OH MY OMARI
Supersub Hutchinson rises off bench to score late and fire up Tractor Boys’ push for top flight
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ROBERT DUNFORD
OMARI HUTCHINSON admitted it was not easy coming off the bench early for Ipswich.
But the winger still had a big impact, scoring here with his second stoppage-time goal in a week.
And although it was less dramatic than his winner against Rotherham last Tuesday, it was no less important.
Earlier strikes from Conor Chaplin and Jeremy Sarmiento kept Ipswich behind secondplaced Leeds on goal difference.
The 20-year-old felt he had to adjust quickly when replacing Wes Burns after just 20 minutes.
He said “It’s difficult coming on so soon to try to get involved as quickly as possible with the tempo being so fast. I eased my way in and helped the team out.
“I was sitting down and I saw Wes was struggling with his calf.
The manager told me to come on and keep doing your thing as you’ve been doing the past games.”
Birmingham were undone with the opener from Chaplin (inset), before they struck back just before half-time through Jordan James.
Both teams seemed to labour to get the winner, before sub
Sarmiento hit from close range with nine minutes left.
It was hard not to sense the relief around Portman Road and the hosts played with more freedom afterwards.
Hutchinson added the finishing touch in added time to leave Birmingham defeated.
He added: “Jeremy has done it twice now, he’s an important player for us, he gives a different dynamic.
“It’s important for him as well to get his confidence up. The team is gelling well and the subs are making an impact. Now coming to the tail end, we have little looks at other teams up the top, but not much has been said.
“Whatever happens, happens. Leeds winning is frustrating, but it is what it is.”
Blues paid tribute to their absent boss Tony Mowbray beforehand, wearing Tshirts with “Gaffer” on them.
Defender Cody Drameh admitted the news of Mowbray was a shock.
He said: “We received the news about him on Monday, so we had a little light session that day.
“The team didn’t really know how to take it, because the gaffer hid the news and we didn’t know what was happening.
“We’re going to use it to try to galvanise the team, try to do our best while he’s gone. For the last few weeks I feel I could play a lot better. Coming back from the injury I can be a bit rusty.”