Wes Burns rescues Ipswich but Norwich grab point in fiery East Anglian derby
To a backdrop of brilliantly bile-fueled invective that rarely ceased from every quarter of Portman Road, the returning East Anglian derby provided a brutal, pulsating encounter that epitomised English football at its finest: all heart and no shortage of class when it mattered.
Loud, nasty, spiteful and enthralling – and that was just the action in the stands – it was perhaps fitting that it ended in a draw, for no one really deserved to leave empty handed. After a near five-year break, El Tractico honours remain even.
Often forgotten in discussions over the game’s biggest rivalries, this derby matters more in these parts than any other sporting event, with decibel levels permanently high enough to travel across the fields of both Suffolk and Norfolk.
Perhaps somewhere, supporters of both clubs might come together to raise a glass in honour of the full-blooded entertainment they were treated to on this Saturday afternoon. It seems unlikely though; cross-border friendships can wait for another day.
It was a point that better suited the visitors, of course, with Norwich City extending their unbeaten run in this fixture to 13 games that stretches back all the way to 2009. They will count themselves somewhat fortunate to have survived with that record intact given the dominance of their hosts.
Ipswich have dazzled under Kieran McKenna’s fast, free-flowing brand of football. Their vibrancy was vivid here, but no number of dangerous moves was enough to send them back top of the table, having been forced to recover from a goal down after letting their initial lead slip.
That it had taken McKenna’s side 34 minutes to gain the lead was a matter of some disbelief given their superiority from the outset and the chances they spurned.
Nathan Broadhead twice had the goal at his mercy, first dragging a shot wide after making statues of the Norwich defence with his superb close control, and again curling the wrong side of the upright soon after.
Soon enough, the Welshman did score, capitalising on Norwich’s failure to sufficiently clear an Ipswich corner, and lashing home from close range.
Until that point, sight of Vaclav Hladky’s goal had been a rarity for the visiting team, but an unlikely quickfire Jonathan Rowe double then put them ahead.
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His first came courtesy of Norwich’s only shot on target of the first half when his audacious bicycle kick rebounded straight back to him off Luke Woolfenden’s thigh, from where Rowe made light of his half-prone position by leaping up and instinctively toeing the ball past the keeper while tumbling backwards. A suspicion of offside – for the home fans, at least – remained unresolved without the aid of Stockley Park’s video officials.
Four minutes after the half-time break, Rowe had another, driving a loose ball after a long throw straight through Hladky’s legs.
But this pendulum was not for halting and the Ipswich fans were soon back on their feet, making their voices heard. An hour had gone when the type of trademark slick Ipswich passing move that has propelled them to the upper reaches of the Championship culminated in Wes Burns drilling his shot low into the corner to once again awaken a Portman Road that had briefly been subdued.
Roared until – and beyond – the final whistle, the home side pushed and pushed but came no closer than a diving Angus Gunn save to deny Broadhead late on.