Local girl Paige Peake will realise a lifetime ambition by stepping out at Portman Road on Saturday having returned to the club last summer after three seasons away playing for this weekend’s WSL2 opponents, Southampton.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference held at the stadium, the defender revealed she’s watched games at Portman Road as a spectator.

“I’ve been to a number of men’s games over the years, growing up as well,” she said. “I’m obviously from the town. When I was here last and growing up, I didn’t think this was possible but now it is. It’s exciting. Hopefully, we can get a win.”

A graduate of the Ipswich Town academy, Peake left the club in the summer of 2022 to join the Saints, who had just been promoted into the women’s second tier, then called the FA Women’s Championship.

She admitted: “Overall, I enjoyed my time there. To be a part of Southampton’s first year in the Championship - WSL2 now - was always nice. It’s a bit of a full circle, playing against Southampton at Portman Road.”

Despite having left for the south coast, the attraction of returning one day to Suffolk never left her.

“I felt like, since Ipswich Town got promoted last year, coming back was never a door that I closed,” she continued. “It felt like the right time, I had experience playing at this level. Hopefully I can pass that onto the group.”

At 23 still a young player herself, Peake feels her experience of playing in the second tier is something that has helped her current team-mates, especially during a tough start to the season.

“Hopefully, I’ve taken a lot from it and brought it here,” she reflected. “I think even on the opening day when we lost 4-0 to Southampton, it was like trying to put that into perspective to the girls. When I was at Southampton, we lost to Charlton on opening day, so that first game doesn’t define your season.”

Since the turn of the year, Ipswich Town have seen a dramatic upturn in form, going unbeaten in the league into March until last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Peake assessed their season so far: “We sort of built up, we had a bit of a dip but we’re building up again. It’s like putting things into perspective. In tier three, they were used to winning game after game and, actually, one or two losses doesn’t define your year.

“I think we’ve been really impressive since the new year. The loss to Forest isn’t ideal but we were always going to lose at some point in the second half of the year. To go unbeaten would have been incredible.

“We’ve had a good, upwards trajectory and momentum, it’s about not letting that dip change anything. We’re all still in good spirits, we’re all still confident, it’s not really knocked anything at all. Hopefully we can change it back this weekend.”

With five games remaining this season, Town are level on points with bottom side Portsmouth in the battle to avoid relegation back into the FA Women’s National League. The Blues, Pompey, Durham and Sheffield United are separated by just a single point with one of those teams certain to go down. 

Peake, however, believes that her side is the one with the momentum. “We are confident, we know it’s tight at the bottom. From the Christmas break, I think we were five points adrift at the bottom, so the fact that we are now in effectively a four-team battle is full credit to us.

“I think a lot of teams wrote us off at Christmas. So the fact that we’ve managed to pull it back - we’re one of the most in-form teams in the league - that gives us a lot of confidence. We’re confident that we’ll get the job done.”

Having previously played in front of 10,173 fans in February 2024 and 10,807 in March 2025, the club are hopeful of attracting another five-figure attendance at Portman Road to watch the women’s team during the men’s international break.

Peake missed those two matches, against Chatham Town and Plymouth Argyle, but having now rejoined from Southampton, her family can finally watch her play at Portman Road.

“It will be good, I think we’ve sold 7,000 so far,” she added. “Hopefully we’ll get a big crowd there - hopefully a record crowd - and give them a game to remember.

“All the girls are really looking forward to it and are up for it. It’s a cliché, but it’s like a 12th man. The better the atmosphere in the stadium, the more push and drive it gives you.

“Obviously, off the back of the weekend, it’s like a perfect game for us. To have a solid home support at Portman Road to hopefully gives us the lift to get us back on track.

“I’ve got quite a few people coming on Saturday, so yeah, it will be nice to have lots there supporting.

“I went to games with my dad here when I was younger. I’ve been to games with my mum and my grandparents, so for them to see me play here will be nice for them.”

Photo: TownTV