Escape artists Ipswich running towards glory
Delirium as McKenna’s men leave it late (again)
AT the end, it was utter carnage inside this famous old ground. All season they have dreamed about returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2002 but this could be the night that it all started to feel like a reality.
‘Running towards adversity’ is the mission statement at this club and Kieran McKenna’s side took that quite literally with a 97th-minute winner by Jeremy Sarmiento to go top of the Championship again.
‘It was right up there. To win it in the last minute like that, it’s a moment to really cherish,’ said McKenna, who joined in the wild celebrations in the dugout before gesturing at everyone to calm down and see the game out.
‘We all got a bit lost, the subs, the staff, everyone. If you can’t get lost in that moment, you’ll probably never get lost in anything so there’s five to 10 seconds of jubilation. But after that, I knew the job wasn’t done. Crazier things have happened in football and it’s my job to be the first one to dial back in.’
Earlier, Southampton had equalised through Che Adams a minute after Ipswich took the lead through Leif Davis and the visitors then went ahead thanks to Adam Armstrong. Russell
Martin’s side were in control when McKenna turned to his bench on the hour mark with an inspired triple change that altered the game. Substitute Nathan Broadhead equalised in the 68th minute before another replacement in Sarmiento sent a packed- out Portman Road into delirium.
Instead of Fergie Time, he was asked whether it was McKenna Time after yet another late Ipswich goal. ‘It’s a good habit. It doesn’t happen by chance, it’s a great way to win a game,’ McKenna said.
With seven steps to go till the promised land, this was arguably the trickiest game left for Ipswich. Pre-match, their fans joked how
Norwich were never going to do them any favours after their earlier defeat at Leicester, which briefly put the Foxes top of the table. And for much of this exhilarating contest, it looked like an ex-Norwich man in Saints manager Martin was going to spoil their Easter Monday.
It was Ipswich who struck first with a thunderous strike by Davis. Skipper Sam Morsy picked out Davis on the left-hand side of the box, who took one touch before thumping past Gavin Bazunu.
The home fans had hardly stopped celebrating when Southampton levelled from the restart as Adams finished smartly past Vaclav Hladky. Nine minutes later,
they were ahead after a ruthless move from the back.
With Southampton in control, McKenna made three changes on the hour and Broadhead finished wonderfully to level. Both sides pushed for a winner and Saints were left to play the last few minutes with 10 men after James Bree was sent off for bringing down Davis.
They were made to pay too as Sarmiento finished at the second time of asking from Davis’s ball to send the ground into raptures.
‘We were the best team,’ said Martin. ‘We didn’t deserve to lose. I’m so proud of the players and it gives me a huge amount of confidence about what’s to come.’
Ipswich, though, have given themselves a great chance — even if McKenna refuses to talk about the Premier League just yet. ‘It’s about days like this in front of a full stadium,’ he insisted. ‘These are things to enjoy and cherish in isolation.’
From running to adversity to running with sheer joy towards the top-flight.