Ipswich Town manager Gary O’Neil was delighted his side managed to pinch all three points late on in their Premier League return, beating Sunderland 2-1 at Portman Road.
The Tractor Boys have endured a yo-yo existence in recent times, swapping one division for another across the past five consecutive campaigns. But there is real hope in Suffolk that they can make a proper fist of staying among the big boys this term, thanks to an expensive outlay in the transfer market. Ipswich’s last tilt at the top flight saw them win just four games all season and it took them until November to rack up their first three-point haul. So there will be an element of relief to get off the mark on the opening day, and especially being able to snatch the win so late on in the contest.
Emersonn, one of those aforementioned big money signings, opened the scoring midway through the first half before ex-Sunderland winger Jack Clarke popped up right at the death to seal a stoppage time winner. Inbetween those two strikes the visitors had restored parity when Nilson Angulo saw a free-kick go in via the woodwork.
O’Neil said: “We’re never going to settle for a draw even though it wouldn’t have been a terrible result for us against a good Sunderland side. That we were still trying to get up the pitch and get a goal and so to score late on from the press, shows the togetherness and fitness and work-rate of the players.
“The subs showed energy and I think three or four of them were involved in the second goal. I don’t think it’s something we’d have been able to do if we’d have had the starting XI out there.
“I thought we deserved to win on balance. They scored a world class goal to get back in it but I was really pleased with our players’ response.”
Ipswich started brightly and their new-look array of forwards immediately caught the eye, in particular Julio Enciso. And it was he who teed up the opener for Emersonn. Enciso cut out a slack Sunderland pass in his own half, dashed forwards and skipped past Dan Ballard and then fed his colleague who applied a cool finish from just a few yards out.
The visitors levelled up shortly before the interval and in spectacular style. Angulo wrapped his right foot around the ball and it kissed the crossbar on its way into the net past debutant goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.
Sunderland failed to properly test Scherpen second half with a tame effort from Brian Brobbey the best they could muster. It was the hosts who were more adventurous in their attacks and it would be Clarke, who left Wearside for Ipswich back in 2024, who sealed the victory when he tucked the ball home just inside the area as the clock ticked past the 90-minute mark.
Sunderland chief Regis Le Bris said: “We had the possession with 60 or 65 per cent I think. We had to find solutions to break their block. We tried and created a few chances but we weren’t clinical enough with our end product.
“At the beginning of a season our references aren’t really set and you can make mistakes and Ipswich were really good at exploiting our mistakes and it’s led to them scoring twice. This is the Premier League and it’s ruthless with every team having quality. We have to lift our level. Last season we struggled at times so it’s something to improve going forward.”
