Ipswich Town fell to a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at Portman Road, with the Eagles taking all three points thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second half strike.
The Blues were unable to end their winless run on home soil, having struggled to test their relegation rivals enough to earn a positive result.
The opening few stages were even, with Ipswich having their first real foray forward in the seventh minute as Jack Clarke won the ball high up the pitch and drove into the final third, playing a ball to Omari Hutchinson on the right. The youngster won a corner, but the Blues were unable to capitalise.
There were space for Town to exploit. Liam Delap’s powerful surge almost ended with him playing Hutchinson through on goal in the ninth minute, but he still managed to recover and ensure his side held onto the ball. Seconds later, Jack Clarke found a similar gap to exploit, but he took too long to pick his pass and was eventually dispossessed.
Jack Clarke returned to the starting lineup for the first time since October 19th (Image: Ross Halls)
An injury to Maxence Lacroix, coupled with a succession of soft fouls that went the way of the visitors, killed the momentum of the match around the 17th minute. A loud cheer rung around Portman Road three minutes later, when referee Craig Pawson finally awarded one in the Blues’ favour following a foul on Jack Clarke.
The first yellow card, however, was given to Dara O’Shea, who had to bring down Ismaila Sarr on the counter in the 23rd minute. Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was seemingly heading for no one, but Arijanet Muric was caught in two minds as to whether he should gather the ball or leave it, forcing O’Shea to head behind for a corner, which was cleared.
Ipswich found space to break soon after, but were stopped in their tracks as Cheick Doucoure shoved Jack Clarke to the ground, with the Eagles’ midfielder picking up the second booking of the match.
Dara O’Shea had to be patched up after a clash of heads (Image: Stephen Waller)
The stop-start nature of the game dragged on, with O’Shea needing to be patched up following a collision with Jean-Philippe Mateta that left the Irishman with a nasty gash on his head. The previous move, which saw Palace win a corner, saw former Town loanee Trevoh Chalobah head over the crossbar.
Oliver Glasner’s men started to turn the screw as the clock ticked towards half time, but they were allowed to do so as Ipswich continued to give the ball away within seconds of regaining possession, much to Kieran McKenna’s frustration.
Their big moment came in the 38th minute as Mateta played Eze through into the box, where the England international fired a tame shot straight into the gloves of Muric. A couple of minutes after that, Doucoure – already on a booking – narrowly avoided a second after tripping Jens Cajuste.
Cheick Doucoure was fortunate to avoid a red card before being brought off at half time (Image: Stephen Waller)
Having hardly threatened at all in the first half, Ipswich came within inches of taking the lead in the 44th minute after Wes Burns won a corner. Leif Davis’ delivery fell perfectly for Harry Clarke at the near post, who forced Dean Henderson into his first save of the evening.
Ipswich made a lively start to the second half, as Burns found space down the right to cross onto the head of Delap, who could only flick the ball up and into the gloves of Henderson.
From there, however, they struggled to click in the final third as the crowd grew increasingly frustrated. O’Shea’s strike from outside the box – which dipped just over the crossbar in the 55th minute – came at the end of one of their longer spells on the ball.
Jean-Philippe Mateta put Crystal Palace ahead in the second half (Image: PA)
As the momentum dropped out of the game, Palace struck from out of nowhere. The move started following some good work from Delap, but he couldn’t hold onto the ball as the visitors turned and pushed forward. Eze’s through ball picked out Mateta, who eased past Jacob Greaves before dinking the ball over Muric to put his side ahead in the 59th minute.
Following a triple substitution in the 66th minute, Town were fortunate not to fall further behind as a miscommunication between O’Shea and Muric allowed Mateta to pounce, forcing the goalkeeper into a sharp save.
The Blues tried to swing the pendulum back in their favour. A rare break down the left allowed Davis to deliver a pinpoint cross towards Delap in the 71st minute, fizzing just past the striker before Tyrick Mitchell could clear. The left-back’s corner was poor, however, and his side only just managed to avoid being his on the counter.
Ali Al-Hamadi looked lively off the bench but struggled to test the Eagles’ defence (Image: Stephen Waller)
Ali Al-Hamadi helped Town create a chance with his first touch, rushing down the left and cutting inside past three players to set up fellow substitute Nathan Broadhead. In the end, the Eagles got back quickly to outnumber the Blues’ forward line, leading to Sam Morsy firing a wayward shot from distance.
There were chances for them to earn a late draw. A free-kick on the edge of the area saw Davis and Conor Chaplin combine, with the latter playing a cross onto the head of Greaves who produced a looping header, which clipped the post before it bounced wide just in front of Broadhead.
There was time for late pressure, but Ipswich never piled it on, falling to their seventh defeat of the Premier League season.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Muric; H. Clarke, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste (Taylor 66′); Burns (Chaplin 66′), Hutchinson, J. Clarke (Broadhead 66′); Delap (Al-Hamadi 79′)
Crystal Palace XI: 3-4-2-1: Henderson; Chalobah (Richards 81’), Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure (Lerma 46′), Mitchell; Sarr (Nketiah 90′), Eze (Devenny 76′); Tests
Attendance: 29,533 (2,939 away)
