Considering the highlights of probably the best Ipswich Town side most of us will ever see in our lifetimes is not what could be construed as a challenging task. Yet, of course, in a season of astonishing performances, the weight of choice leads to lengthy deliberation- which is why the title of this piece was edited to remove any limit on numbers; there are so many to choose, so perhaps better not to impose a limit?
Here is an attempt at picking out some of them…..
George Hirst v. Exeter City (H)
Pretty much everyone in the 29,000 sold out crowd at Portman Road at the end of April was confident that the extraordinary run of form wouldnt end a step early. But nobody could ever be sure and, well, those sort of things happen dont they? It had been 23 years of waiting after all. The team left nothing to chance and, by the quarter hour mark, George Hurst was sliding in for a 3rd goal- there was a mix of sheer disbelief mixed in amongst the joy and laughter- the definition of “unbelievable”. All the nerves gone, just like that.
Nathan Broadhead v Sheffield Wednesday (H)
A fantastic direct free kick, from a player who had seemingly never even practiced one, on its own was impressive. But, its impact in the context of the seasons was enormous. It is without exaggeration to say that the entire season pivoted in the ten minutes leading up to that goal. When Michael Smith went through on goal in the 36th minute, two minutes after Wednesday had gone 2-0 up, the game was there to be won. Instead, seven minutes later Broadhead struck his wonder goal, Town came back to draw 2-2 and Ipswich conceded as many goals in their next 14 games as they had in this match alone…..
The 13 Game Run
13 Games, 12 Wins, 1 Draw, 0 Defeats. 40 goals scored, 2 conceded, 12 clean sheets. It is unlikely any of us will ever see a better pound-for-pound Ipswich Team again than the one which produced this run, which culminated in that 6-0 victory over Exeter than sealed promotion. Exceptional.
George Hirst v. Barnsley (A)
Not just the manner of the goal, itself a model of modern centre-forward play- it wasnt lost that Erling Haaland scored a carbon copy for Manchester City v. Arsenal the following evening, by the way- but the fact that it put Town two goals up in what many had perceived to be the most likely game to stall us in our run-in. If 4th placed Barnsley, on a 10 game winning running at home, couldnt lay a glove on this side, then nobody would; the vast 5,000 away support at the far end knew it too, the finishing line was in sight.
Nathan Broadhead v. Port Vale (H)
In amongst that fabulous run, Ipswich hadnt even been conceding goals, let alone going behind. So when Benning put Port Vale ahead, typically against the run of play, it brought an anxiety at the interval amongst fans. 23 years….. nobody doubted that the shadow of failure was very much felt over the shoulder. By the 85th minute, with fans belief still holding but their nerves less so, Broadhead demonstrated that he was probably the only person in the stadium to be in control of both, smashing home a perfect penalty and lifting the roof off of Portman Road.
Conor Chaplin v. Derby (A)
A goal of significance against a major rival, but remembered more for the incredibly high level of execution, worthy of a far higher level of football and a demonstration, if one was needed, of exactly what Keiran McKenna had been quietly delivering in League One. From the alert distribution from Christian Walton, through Nathan Broadheads exceptional cross field pass, to Wes Burns controlled knock-down to Chaplins cool finish; perfect throughout.
Conor Chaplin v. Peterborough (A)
A period of the season where Chaplin was seemingly making decisive goalscoring impacts in every game. Another tough away game, with a narrow lead and an opposition threatening to find a way back into the game, Broadheads perfect through pass and Chaplins instant finish sent the huge away support wild immediate behind the goal.
Portsmouth (H)
What felt like the first big test of the season, a chance to find out if this side had the resiliance that had gone missing for two of the three previous seasons. Portsmouth, sitting top of the league going into the game, managed to get level against the run of play twice, but for a third time Town were able to get in front and hold on to beat a big rival in a pressure match. It was the start of what became common place through the season.
Christian Walton v Bolton (A)
Just as Town had started to build momentum with some much needed wins over some of the divisions weaker sides, Bolton represented a different challenge. Despite looking confident with a 1-0 lead, Towns foothold in the game was in serious danger when Bolton were given an early 2nd half penalty. Christian Walton saved his second spot kick of the season and Town never looked back, not just in this game, but in the season.
4-0, 6-0, 2-1, 6-0
Back in 1998, Ipswich had a three home game spell against Huddersfield, Norwich and Oxford where they scored 5 in each of them. Even that was surpassed by the exceptional form that saw 18 goals in the final 4 home games, with only 1 goal conceded- even if the team was unbeatable at the time, they turned it up a notch at home and scored at will.
That Team Welcome
Prior to the Exeter game that clinched promotion, word spread on social media that Blue Action, the Supporters Group who have contributed so much to improving the atmosphere within the stadium, were planning to welcome the First Team coach on its arrival. Its probably fair to say that expectations of most were of a few hundred gathering but perhaps it would be worth taking a look. Its also probably fair to say that most were staggered by the turnout, with thousands lining the streets, flags and flares in hand, chanting relentlessly as the coach arrived. It was like nothing that had ever been seen at Portman Road before and for many was the highlight of the day, including several players, which speaks volumes.
