Town’s Championship Cheer – Isabel T
With the Tractor Boys 2nd in the league – while I’m currently writing this – is it possible that a Premier League promotion is in sight? Or is the downfall of Ipswich Town around the corner? While some may be joyous with the fact that Ipswich are above Norwich (not so much Mr Hodson), will Norwich rise from 8th place and take Ipswich down with them? Or will the Canaries lose harshly again, much like against newly promoted Plymouth at 6-2? Only time can tell. Anyway, as Ipswich are on a victorious streak and not only is Portman Road selling out tickets, but it is hard to ignore the high morale present on match day within the town, and ever present friction with the canaries. Here’s an overview of the matches so far:
With the first matches of the Championship taking place in August, the Tractor Boys played against Sunderland, winning the hugely anticipated match at 2-1, despite the possession mainly in Sunderland’s favour and the large crowd at Sunderland’s home ground. Goals came from George Hirst and Nathan Broadhead. Ipswich’s second match against Bristol Rovers, sparked interest after their initial win and now playing in their home ground. Ipswich dominated, with final score of of 2-0. Goals came from Jack Taylor and Sone Aluko, which was his first goal for the club in 22 months. Ipswich’s next match also took place at Portman Road against Stoke City. With both sides achieving opening wins so far, Ipswich was the team to maintain their winning streak at 2-0. Defender Luke Woolfendon and sub Kayden Jackson scored these early and late in the game. Ipswich now travel to Loftus Road to play QPR in August, securing their victory within 15 minutes of the end of the match. The one goal was scored by Conor Chaplin, and QPR were left in the dust, still grieving after their 4-0 loss against Watford on their opening match. Ipswich’s first and only loss thus far was a tough match against Leeds United, leaving the final score at 3-4 to Leeds. With 3 goals in 9 minutes from the opposing team, the game was turned on its head from the initial own goal from Joe Rodon (Leeds). Ipswich’s other goals came from Broadhead and Chaplin. In the next match, Ipswich knock Reading out of the cup after penalties. With the final score at 2-2, including Freddie Ladapo’s first goal of the season, Ipswich pulled through with penalties to see them onto the next round. The next two matches now move into September where Ipswich secure wins over Cardiff (3-2), Sheffield Wednesday (0-1) and Southampton (0-1). This brings Ipswich onto their 4-3 win over Blackburn Rovers, with the first Ipswich goal scored within 4 minutes. Ipswich also beat Premier League Wolves 3-2 on Tuesday. With only one loss in their matches so far, I can guarantee that no news reporter or journalist even predicted such a winning streak from the Tractor Boys. Not only the players, but Ipswich’s manager, McKenna, helped to bring these unexpected victories to light and will hopefully be put in history books in the near future.
However, with many players suffering injuries; Davis, Donacien, Hirst and Walton, Ipswich are doing hugely better than expected this far into the league. With opinions from my trusty sports connoisseur, my brother (James T), he predicts that Ipswich will struggle against Preston, Leeds (away) and Leicester. But will be extremely capable of beating other teams, as long as their current technique continues. He has an educated guess that Ipswich will end up at least in 6th position in the league, and up to 3rd place. This means that Ipswich will qualify for playoffs for the Premier League next time. These playoffs mean that they will need to be more clinical and sharper in defence in order to end up in a great position. Next matches are up against Huddersfield Town, Hull City, Preston North End, Rotherham United, Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle which are all set within September and October. Let’s see if this winning streak will continue!
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