Ipswich Town hold out for 2-1 win over Sunderland in opening day thriller at Stadium of Light.
Ipswich Town saw off an impressive Sunderland side to record an opening day 2-1 win as they kicked off their Championship season in style.
Goals from Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst were enough to give Kieran McKenna’s team the three points.
The Tractor Boys had to survive some late pressure to seal the points but managed to see out their North East trip with aplomb.
Town’s 2,000 travelling fans would have been hoping for better things from their men in the opening exchanges, but it was Sunderland who started the better side.
Jack Clarke was lively for the Black Cats, managed by former Town star Tony Mowbray. He twisted and turned the Town defence every which way but failed to deliver the killer blow.
It was Jobe Bellingham, on his debut for the home side, who couldn’t control a parried long-range shot on the 22-minute mark and it was a miss Sunderland were left to rue.
Sunderland had a strong shout for a penalty on the 41-minute mark when the impressive Clarke was again in the thick of the action after a spell of prolonged pressure when Town could simply not get into the match.
Possession was well in Sunderland’s favour – 70-30 – and yet their swarming dominance in midfield couldn’t yield that killer blow.
Just as half-time beckoned, Leif Davis fired in a volley which cannoned off the shin of Nathan Broadhead into the home net for the opener. Broadhead was at Sunderland on loan last season and didn’t celebrate his goal as a mark of respect to the home fans – but the Town faithful were given a half-time present they couldn’t have expected early on.
Whatever Kieran McKenna said to his troops at half-time worked wonders. They came out after the break looking more like the team who bagged 98 points last season and 101 goals.
Credit has to go to ref Barrott for allowing play to carry on after a foul on Luongo. It allowed Broadhead to play in Hirst who put Town two-up.
A minute later, it could have been three when Conor Chaplin saw a chance from inside the centre circle, took aim with his left peg and just smashed into the woodwork. George Hirst followed up and was just pulling the trigger when he was bundled over and it looked to everyone like a penalty – except the officials. McKenna made his views known a little too robustly and received a yellow card.
Ipswich were then given a huge boost when Trai Hume was booked for the second time on 55 minutes and had to go. If anything, it inspired Sunderland rather than deflate them and Town had their work cut out in the final quarter.
Town paid the price on 85 minutes for failing to convert chances when Sunderland hit back. A great ball in from Cirkin was met by midfielder Dan Neil to give the Stadium of Light fans something to finally cheer.
Extra time beckoned and an injury to Janoi Donacien after he was injured in a clash with Hladky saw 13 minutes of extra time – and it was that man Hladky, in for the injured Walton, who saved a point blank chance late on to give Town an enjoyable trip back to Suffolk.
After the match, Kieran McKenna said: “It took every inch of what we had. In the first 20 minutes, we felt the step-up in football. All that was missing for us was the third goal – but it was pleasing the way we stuck at it. It was a real dig-in effort as a squad to get the result.”
SkyBet man of the match Sam Morsy said: “It’s no longer a 90-minute game and we have to adapt to that. To show the character we did is a credit to te boys. You can’t afford to relax for a single second.”
