Southampton are finally back in the win column after Paul Onuachu scored the late winning goal to beat Ipswich 2-1 at Portman Road on Saturday, snapping Saints’ three-month (13 games) winless skid.
WATCH – Ipswich v Southampton full match replay
Joe Aribo put Southampton ahead in the 21st minute but Ipswich quickly drew level again when Liam Delap bagged his 9th PL goal this season in the 31st. A point wouldn’t have done much good at this point of the relegation race, so Ivan Juric pressed forward with three substitutions that made Saints more attacking and finally in the 86th minute, and was rewarded with his first PL victory.
Kamaldeen Sulemana cut in front the left wing and fired a low shot on target and Arijanet Muric made the near-post stop, but he couldn’t hold the shot which was hit so low and hard. The ball caromed back into play and fell to “Tall Paul” Onuachu, who had to get down as low as he could, as quickly as he could, to sweep home the rebound home and secure Saints’ second win of the season.
Finally, a bit of luck goes Saints’ way
Sure, the PL table might look like Southampton haven’t done much right all season, but they were terribly unlucky on a number of occasions early in the season, and that seemed to set the stage for what the rest of the campaign would be. In truth, they had little business taking all three points as Ipswich dominated the game for long spells but simply lacked the cutting edge to make good on it. Credit to Juric for not sitting idle and backing his team to go and win it. Ipswich don’t look like a side that should be relegated from the PL, but they are running out of relegation candidates to catch, as the bottom-four is now seven points adrift of the rest of the league.
Player ratings - Ipswich vs Southampton
What’s next?
- Coventry City vs Ipswich — Saturday, 10 am ET (FA Cup)
- Southampton vs Burnley — Saturday, 10 am ET (FA Cup
- Southampton vs Bournemouth — Saturday, Feb. 15, 10 am ET (next PL fixture)
- Aston Villa vs Ipswich — Saturday, Feb. 15, 10 am ET (next PL fixture)
Ipswich vs Southampton live updates - by Andy Edwards
Ipswich vs Southampton final score: 1-2
Goalscorers: Joe Aribo (21'), Liam Delap (31'), Paul Onuachu (87')
GOAL! Ipswich 1-2 Southampton: Onuachu slides in, sweeps Saints ahead (87')
GOAL! Ipswich 1-1 Southampton: Delap races away from everyone and equalizes (31')
GOAL! Ipswich 0-1 Southampton: Aribo puts Saints ahead with an impressive volley (21')
Ipswich starting lineup
Muric - Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis - Morsy, Cajuste, Enciso - Hutchinson, Broadhead, Delap
Southampton starting lineup
Ramsdale - Bree, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis - Walker-Peters, Ugochukwu, Aribo, Welington - Fernandes, Gronbaek, Onuachu
The Tractor Boys have lost three in a row and five of their last seven, with hammerings at home to Man City (6-0) and at Liverpool (4-1) in their last two outings. Still, Kieran McKenna’s side are in touching distance of safety as they sit just one point behind Leicester City who climbed out of the relegation zone last weekend. Ipswich are right in the hunt for survival and know this home game against struggling Southampton is absolutely must-win if they’re going to stay up.
Southampton have lost all six Premier League games since Ivan Juric arrived to replace Russell Martin but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Saints have totally changed their playing style from possession based to high-pressing and it’s working as they should’ve picked up several points under the Croatian coach. But their incredibly low confidence levels can’t see them string a 90-minute performance together. They took the lead against Newcastle last weekend but ended up losing 3-1 as a lack of quality at both ends has hampered Saints all season. They have to win this game to have any hope whatsoever of making a fist of their fight against relegation as they’re currently 11 points from safety.
Ipswich team news, focus
OUT: Sammie Szmodics (ankle), Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles - out for season), Conor Chaplin (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Leif Davis (illness)
Southampton team news, focus
OUT: Ross Stewart (lower leg) | QUESTIONABLE: Nathan Wood (unknown), Ryan Fraser (unknown), Albert Gronbaek (new signing), Jack Stephens (other)
Ipswich vs Southampton prediction
This feels like it will be an open, entertaining game as both teams will go for it knowing it falls into the must-win category. Expect Ipswich’s more dangerous attackers in Delap and Hutchinson to be the difference. Ipswich 3-2 Southampton.
How to watch Ipswich vs Southampton live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (February 1)
Venue: Portman Road — Ipswich
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock