With the stakes high in this battle, a rapid start was crucial. Powered on by a Portman Road crowd that had only seen their team lose once here all campaign, Ipswich did just that after 12 minutes of pressure led to a poor Southampton clearance, which was pounced upon by Sam Morsy.
The midfielder picked out Leif Davis on the left-hand side of the penalty, and – perhaps to Gavin Bazunu’s surprise – the full-back set himself steady and blasted a shot into the top left corner of the goal over the goalkeeper’s head.
However, the home supporters’ euphoria would last a mere minute.
From the restart, Joe Aribo connected the Saints’ quick build-up play, before finding Ché Adams in the crowded penalty box for a simple tap-in.
The hosts begged for offside, though replays showed Davis was at fault for playing the striker onside. From here, the Tractor Boys broke down, and midway through the first period Adam Armstrong handed his side the lead.
The attacker broke free of Davis as Stuart Armstrong threaded a perfect pass through, and he routinely slotted beyond Václav Hladký.
To make matters worse for Kieran Mckenna’s side, Kieffer Moore was forced into an early substitution having picked up a knock, meaning they would have to find a way back into the tie without their influential striker. Once again though, McKenna’s use of substitutions after HT was able to turn the tide with time to spare.
Minutes after Ali Al-Hamadi had struck the post, a revitalised Ipswich drew level through Nathan Broadhead, whose first-time turn and strike from 18 yards caught Bazunu unaware, and the ball rolled into the bottom right corner.
As this was a match-up between the division’s joint-highest scorers beyond the 81st minute, there seemed a strong hope for a late winner in both camps.
This feeling lessened drastically for the visitors when James Bree was shown a straight red card for hauling down Davis through on goal with six minutes to play, and that – partnered with seven injury-time minutes – handed Ipswich the lifeline to snatch victory at the death.
With 12 seconds remaining, the ball arrived at the feet of Jeremy Sarmiento in the 18-yard box.
He initially failed to get the ball out of his feet, though a hopeful stab at the ball at the second attempt sent it beyond Bazunu to claim all three points.
The goal made sure they will end the round top of the table instead of potentially third, whilst a distraught Saints side slumped off languishing 11 points adrift of automatic promotion.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leif Davis (Ipswich Town)
