Burgess leaves Ipswich on brink of fairytale finish
ONE more point will be enough to send Ipswich to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years after Cameron Burgess’s second-half winner put them within sight of back-toback promotions.
If the Tractor Boys avoid defeat at home to Huddersfield — who are all but relegated — on Saturday it will be enough to take them up automatically and send Leeds United into the play-offs.
A draw or more would crown a stunning triumph for manager Kieran McKenna, who led his side up from League One only last season. Ipswich rode their luck at times at Coventry but goals from Kieffer Moore and Burgess — either side of Haji Wright’s leveller — saw them over the line.
The visitors’ nerves were settled immediately when Wes Burns raced into the space behind Jay Dasilva and cut the ball back perfectly for Moore, who hammered it home from 12 yards.
It was no more than Ipswich deserved after a confident start against the Sky Blues, whose play- off bid faded either side of their agonising FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United.
The home side eventually started to click into gear, however, and started to control possession. Still, Coventry were struggling to find a weak spot in Ipswich’s defensive structure. These speculative efforts were the best they could do and in the first half-hour at least, Vaclav Hladky did not have to make a serious save.
But when he was required, Hladky certainly stepped up. Palmer’s deflected effort was cleared off the line and when the ball dropped to Haji Wright, Hladky somehow managed to palm his close-range volley over. By now Coventry were well on top though the visitors’ commitment to keeping the ball out was hugely impressive. At the other end, Brad Collins kept the deficit to one with a fine reflex save from Nathan Broadhead’s header.
There was a four-minute stoppage early in the second half when referee James Bell suffered a calf injury and had to be replaced by fourth official Dean Whitestone.
Seconds after the restart, Ipswich were so close to a second when Collins presented Broadhead with the ball and the Town forward struck the bar. And the visitors regretted that miss not long afterwards. Palmer found Wright and the American’s low finish was too hot for Hladky to handle.
Coventry were still slack at the back, and Collins came to their rescue with a save from Jeremy Sarmiento after Joel Latibeaudiere’s loose pass. Collins bailed his side out again by denying George Hirst when one on one.
After those near-misses, Ipswich squeezed ahead a second and final time when Leif Davis’ freekick caused a scramble in the box