September 19, (THEWILL) – Ipswich Town moved up to second place in the Championship with a 1-0 away victory over Southampton, thanks to a goal from on-loan Chelsea youngster, Omari Hutchinson.
The Tractor Boys have now won four consecutive away matches in the second tier for the first time in eight years. The Saints, expected by many to bounce straight back into the English Premier League after relegation last season, have now lost three games in a row.
They started brightly at St Mary’s and Adam Armstrong hit the side-netting early on, but Ipswich took the lead on 30 minutes when Hutchinson capitalised on a mistake by Shea Charles to slot past Gavin Bazunu. Ipswich almost doubled their advantage soon after when Conor Chaplin dispossessed Southampton’s Joe Aribo and hit the bar, but Bazunu denied them again early in the second half with a fine save to deny Chaplin’s volley.
Saints turned to their bench to try and find an equaliser, with Stuart Armstrong, Jan Bednarek and Kamaldeen Sulemana thrown on, but the Ipswich defence held firm to secure all three points.
Manager Russell Martin admitted his side were far from their best but paid tribute to Ipswich’s defensive resilience after the match. The win leaves Kieran McKenna’s side just a point behind leaders Preston as they target more wins.
