Ipswich Town have their first win in the Premier League and now they reside outside the relegation zone after topping Tottenham 2-1 in north London on Sunday.
WATCH TOTTENHAM vs IPSWICH FULL MATCH REPLAY
The Tractor Boys weathered a bit of early pressure as Sam Szmodics and Liam Delap each scored before halftime. Rodrigo Bentancur pulled a goal back for Tottenham midway through the second half and Dominic Solanke had an earlier goal ruled out for handball, but the three points were thoroughly deserved by Kieran McKenna’s side.
Heading into the November international break, Ipswich (8 points) sit 17th, one point above Crystal Palace in the bottom-three. Spurs (16 points) are 10th despite have the 2nd-best goal difference in the league.
Ipswich’s back-five befuddles Spurs attack
For the first time this season, McKenna set his team up in (effectively) a five-man backline with Axel Tuanzebe the extra man coming into the team, and it was clear for most of the game that Tottenham were expecting anything but. What resulted was lots of crosses from Spurs (2 of 11 in the first half), which is exactly what Ipswich were hoping for with an extra center back there to head them away. Brennan Johnson had a difficult half-chance from the only dangerous one in just the 3rd minute, and things didn’t get any better in the second half (4 of 21). Sure, on their day, if everything goes exactly their way, if no one gets hurt, if no one gets sent off, if if if… Spurs can beat any team in the world. Those days are just few and far between, and the inconsistency from game to game (or half to half) isn’t going to just go away or fix itself.
Player ratings - Tottenham vs Ipswich
What’s next?
First, the November international break, followed by…
- Manchester City vs Tottenham - Nov. 23
- Ipswich vs Manchester United - Nov. 24
Tottenham vs Ipswich live updates - by Andy Edwards
Tottenham vs Ipswich final score: 1-2
Goalscorers: Sam Szmodics (31'), Liam Delap (43'), Rodrigo Bentancur (69')
GOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich: Rodrigo Bentancur heads home Pedro Porro’s corner kick
NO GOAL! Dominic Solanke scores, but he kicked the ball off his own hand and in (48')
Spurs had a goal back after Dominic Solanke hooked home from close range after a corner kick from Pedro Porro, but the ball came straight up off his foot, hit his hand and went in. Upon video review, no goal.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Ipswich: Radu Dragusin’s nightmare run continues with an unlucky touch; Liam Delap scores (43')
GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Ipswich: Sam Szmodics pops up with an overhead kick (31')
Tottenham starting lineup
Vicario - Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie - Bentancur, Sarr, Kulusevski - Johnson, Son, Solanke
Ipswich starting lineup
Muric - Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis - Moray, Cajuste, Hutchinson - Johnson, Szmodics, Delap
How to watch Tottenham vs Ipswich live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9 am ET Sunday
Venue: Tottenham Hotspure Stadium
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Stream online via NBC.com
Tottenham team news, focus
OUT: Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Richarlison (thigh), Mikey Moore (illness), Timo Werner (groin)
Ipswich team news, focus
OUT: Janoi Donacien (groin), Jacob Greaves (undisclosed), Jack Taylor (other), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles), Kalvin Phillips (suspension)
Tottenham vs Ipswich prediction
Spurs’ two worst results and performances of the season (losses to Brighton and Crystal Palace) each came on the short Thursday-Sunday turnaround after hard-fought, dramatic wins in the Europa League. This Thursday, they played 30 minutes a man down in Istanbul and lost 3-2. The squad is thinning with injuries and no one knows what’s coming from half-to-half, let alone game-to-game. Ipswich will be set up smartly to exploit all of the above, and if the past tells us anything it’s that they’re going cause lots of problems. Tottenham 3-2 Ipswich.
