Ipswich beat lacklustre Tottenham to claim first Premier League win in 22 years
After surrendering two points in stoppage time to Leicester City last time out, visiting Ipswich faced a Tottenham side still reeling from a troubling 3-2 UEFA Europa League loss to Galatasaray.
The sides exchanged early chances in a back-and-forth contest, with Sammie Szmodics forcing a close-range save from Guglielmo Vicario before Son Heung-min’s inswinging cross was prodded just wide by Brennan Johnson.
Ipswich then hit the crossbar through Cameron Burgess, shortly before Son and Solanke each tested Arijanet Muric at the other end.
Having fallen behind in each of their last three PL games, Ange Postecoglou will not have been at all impressed to see Spurs concede first once again here.
Just after the half-hour mark, Ipswich took the lead when Jens Cajuste’s cross was headed into the air by Cristian Romero, allowing Szmodizcs to hook the ball into the bottom corner with an improvised overhead kick.
Tottenham produced some dangerous moments on the brink of half-time, but they were caught cold on the counter when Szmodics’s cut-back was bundled toward goal by Radu Dragușin, allowing Liam Delap to thump over the line for his third successive PL away goal.
Only Brentford had dropped more points than Ipswich’s 12 from winning positions this season, but with a two-goal advantage at the restart, the Tractor Boys had a rare cushion.
That lead appeared to be halved as Dominic Solanke turned in a corner minutes into the second half, but his muted celebrations were soon justified as VAR chalked off the goal for an unintentional handball from the forward.
The home pressure continued thereafter, and with 69 minutes on the clock, Rodrigo Bentancur reduced the arrears with an emphatic header from a corner.
That goal set up an intriguing finale as the hosts pushed for an equaliser, but ultimately, Solanke was unable to convert from close range deep into stoppage time, allowing Kieran McKenna’s men in pink to claim an invaluable victory.
A run of six home wins on the bounce comes to an abrupt end for Tottenham, leaving them ninth in the PL table, albeit just three points off fourth-placed Brighton.
After handing Crystal Palace their first win of the campaign in late October, Spurs have repeated that unwanted feat once again with Ipswich climbing out of the drop zone as a result.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich)