Paul Onuachu’s late strike sealed Southampton’s first Premier League win under Ivan Juric, as they edged out Ipswich Town 2-1 at Portman Road.
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The Saints striker netted the decisive goal three minutes from time in the battle of the division’s bottom two sides.
It looked like the spoils would be shared after Liam Delap’s ninth league goal of the season cancelled out Joe Aribo’s earlier volley in the first half.
However, there was to be a late twist, with Onuachu pouncing on the rebound of Kamaldeen Sulemana’s saved strike to snatch the visitors’ first away league win of the campaign.
Juric’s side remain bottom of the table but move seven points behind the hosts, who remain 19th after missing the chance to climb out of the relegation zone.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
24 | -18 | 19 |
| 18 |
Leicester
LEI
|
24 | -28 | 17 |
| 19 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
24 | -27 | 16 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
24 | -36 | 9 |
How the match unfolded
Ipswich made the stronger start, but Southampton struck first after 21 minutes as Mateus Fernandes' deflected cross fell kindly for Aribo, with Arijanet Muric unable to keep his volley out of the net.
The hosts responded well. Delap volleyed over soon after but was not to be denied in the 31st minute. The forward darted in behind to beat Jan Bednarek to a loose ball, and calmly slotted past Aaron Ramsdale.
Ipswich went close to turning the contest around before the break – Ramsdale denied Nathan Broadhead from close range, while Julio Enciso curled a free-kick just wide.
Clear opportunities did not fall freely for either side after the break, though Ramsdale thwarted Delap from a tight angle in the 71st minute.
There was to be a dramatic ending. With only three minutes of the 90 remaining, Muric could only parry Sulemana’s low drive, and Onuachu reacted quickest to pounce on the loose ball and snatch all three points for the visitors.
Ipswich slump to another defeat
Having lost their last three Premier League matches, conceding 12 goals along the way, Ipswich will have welcomed the opportunity to get back on track against the division’s bottom side.
With Leicester City travelling to resurgent Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers hosting eighth-placed Aston Villa later on Saturday, this seemed to be a good chance for Kieran McKenna’s side to climb out of the bottom three.
The hosts made a positive start without creating any genuine opportunities to break the deadlock before Aribo struck the opener.
Nevertheless, they hit back quickly after falling behind. Delap demonstrated brilliant composure to find the net just under 23 years after his father Rory did so for Southampton in the last Premier League meeting between the sides at Portman Road.
However, Ipswich could not really kick on and push for only a second home win of the season. They were punished late on with Muric unable to hold Sulemana’s shot, and Onuachu condemned them to a fourth straight defeat.
Things do not get any easier either, with their next three league outings seeing them travel to Villa and Manchester United either side of a home encounter with Tottenham Hotspur.
Saints snatch crucial three points
Having collected the fewest points at this stage of a Premier League season – and on a run of six straight defeats – Southampton were desperate to stop the rot.
Facing the prospect of losing seven straight league matches for the first time in their history, the Saints had to maintain their defensive discipline as Ipswich came out of the blocks quickly.
They would not have been getting too far ahead of themselves when Aribo put them in front, having lost 20 points from winning positions this season.
After Delap’s equaliser, Southampton’s defence was disrupted, with Harwood-Bellis and half-time substitute Jack Stephens going off injured.
Nevertheless, they maintained their concentration for large periods of the second half, before grasping their late opportunity at the other end with both hands.
The joy among the players and relief for Juric was evident as the final whistle sounded, and they will hope this is the start of a revival that will culminate in them moving away from trouble.
Club reports
Ipswich report | Southampton report
What the managers said
Kieran McKenna: "Very disappointing, it was an important game for us. We should have been ahead at half-time but we ended up going behind to a really poor goal. We created more than enough chances to win over the course of the 90 minutes. We were in complete control until their goal. We've got fourteen games left to try and make sure we write a different story for our season and hopefully we're not talking at the end about the disappointment of conceding late goals and letting points go adrift."
Ivan Juric: "It's a great feeling, the guys deserved it because they worked a lot. They did some good games and we lost but today we won. The character is always there. We will enjoy tonight, that's for sure. It was really tough because Ipswich played really good but with the changes, with the pace of Kamaldeen Sulemana, we did some really good things."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Onuachu (86:38) netted Southampton’s latest winning goal in an away Premier League match since Charlie Austin’s strike against Man Utd at Old Trafford in January 2016 (86:40).
Southampton have ended their 13-match winless streak in the Premier League, also securing their first top-flight victory on the road in 20 matches, with their previous away win coming at Chelsea in February 2023.
Ipswich suffered their first league defeat against Southampton since a 5-2 loss at Portman Road in August 2011 in the Championship, having come into today’s meeting unbeaten in their last four against the Saints.
Delap has scored 41 per cent of Ipswich’s Premier League goals this campaign (9/22), with only Chris Wood (43 per cent - 17/40) netting a higher share of his side’s goals in the competition this season.
