We look at three things we learned about the Tractor Boys after their remarkable victory against St Mary’s. Omari Hutchinson’s goal proved to be the difference in Ipswich Town’s 1-0 away triumph at Southampton.
The Saints would have been eager for three points coming into this game after suffering huge defeats against Sunderland and Leicester City just before the international break.
The Tractor Boys had a goal ruled out early on, but took the lead in the 30th minute through Hutchinson, after Shea Charles was dispossessed.
With Kieran McKenna’s side being clinical in that moment, they were able to get themselves in front and managed to carry that lead into the interval.
The hosts would have been keen to get themselves back into the game during the early stages of the second half but they were unable to do so despite their positivity.
And despite their urgency, Ipswich managed to see out the game and claim a 1-0 win, taking them to second in the table.
Following the game, we take a look at three things we learnt about McKenna’s side.
Omari Hutchinson needs to be a key part of Ipswich Town’s plans
Hutchinson was given his first start of the season yesterday evening and it was a big ask for the Chelsea loanee to put in an excellent performance considering the opposition he was facing.
The Saints may have been poor defensively in recent times – but he was facing Kyle Walker-Peters and ended up doing extremely well in the end – grabbing the winning goal and proving to be a nuisance.
Considering the options McKenna has at his disposal, the Tractor Boys’ boss has been given a headache by Hutchinson’s performance but the Jamaican surely has to be an integral figure at Portman Road after that performance.
Many positive things had been said about him when he joined on loan and he has shown why he’s such a highly rated figure.
Ipswich Town can see out a game
Although the Saints failed to create anywhere near enough chances, Ipswich have to be commended for the way they were able to see out the match.
Considering they were facing some excellent attackers including Kamaldeen Sulemana, Che Adams and Adam Armstrong, it would have been easy for the visitors to have crumbled in front of a big home crowd.
But Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess stood up to the challenge extremely well alongside Harry Clarke and Brandon Williams.
The absence of Leif Davis was a major blow for the Tractor Boys – but the starting back four did extremely well and have probably done enough to earn themselves another start against Blackburn Rovers this weekend.
Ipswich Town could force their way into the promotion mix this term
It seemed difficult to believe that Ipswich could compete for promotion.
Yes, they had a strong group when they were promoted, and McKenna is one of the most talented managers outside of the Premier League.
Even though Sunderland thrived last season, it was previously difficult to assume that they may be in the promotion race at the end of this season.
They are, though, demonstrating why they deserve to be at the top of the table, and this recent statement victory has reaffirmed that their early-season record isn’t a fluke.
Last night, they demonstrated their ability to perform on a large stage.
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