Ipswich Town secured their first league win of 2025 with a 2-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday.
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Nathan Broadhead’s first Premier League goal put the visitors ahead in the 34th minute, just moments after Bournemouth had gone close at the other end.
Liam Delap doubled Ipswich’s lead on the hour, combining brilliantly with Conor Townsend to lash home.
Bournemouth thought they had a penalty when Antoine Semenyo was brought down at the other end, but the on-field decision was overturned following a VAR review.
Evanilson initiated hopes of a comeback when he pounced on a rebound in the 67th minute, but Ipswich held firm to claim just their fourth league win of the season.
Tenth-placed Bournemouth have now lost four of their last five league games, in a further blow to their European hopes, while 18th-placed Ipswich are nine points from safety.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
29 | +16 | 49 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
30 | -1 | 48 |
| 8 |
Brighton
BHA
|
30 | +3 | 47 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
30 | +4 | 45 |
| 10 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
30 | +11 | 44 |
How the match unfolded
The Cherries have developed a reputation for racing out of the blocks this season, but they had to wait until the 32nd minute to register their first shot on target as Semenyo struck powerfully at Alex Palmer.
That effort sparked a flurry of chances. Alex Scott twice came close – first seeing his low shot cleared off the line by Dara O’Shea before Palmer stood tall to deny a thumping near-post effort.
Yet Ipswich raced down the other end to break the deadlock as Julio Enciso’s charging run set up Broadhead, who evaded Dean Huijsen’s sliding challenge and slotted home.
Palmer made another fine save early in the second half but Ipswich doubled their lead when Delap played a smart one-two with Townsend and finished brilliantly.
Bournemouth thought they had a lifeline when Axel Tuanzebe brought down Semenyo on the edge of the area, but contact was deemed to have occurred outside the box.
Andoni Iraola’s team pulled one back as Evanilson tucked home after Palmer parried Lewis Cook’s effort, but Bournemouth could not forge a comeback.
Bournemouth’s stumble becomes a slump
Bournemouth would have hoped to bounce back strongly following their FA Cup elimination at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday, but their poor run of form persisted with another Premier League defeat.
The Cherries have hit a rough patch in recent weeks, coming into this match with three losses in their last four league games after having lost just three of their previous 18 matches.
And they could just not hit top gear on this occasion, as they slumped to a fourth straight home defeat, their worst-ever run in the Premier League.
The Cherries looked a shadow of themselves early on, with Ipswich controlling the tempo. And when Bournemouth finally did create those chances through Semenyo and Scott, they left the door open at the other end and were duly punished.
They started the second half with more intent, driven by a lively performance from Scott, but Delap’s goal quickly punctured their momentum. Evanilson’s effort offered hope, but it was not enough to spark a comeback.
Iraola now faces a crucial test to get his side back on track as Bournemouth travel to West Ham United on Saturday, with their European ambitions threatening to fall away.
Tractor Boys show some grit
Ipswich’s three-month wait for a league victory came to an end, and though they are still well behind 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, they showed they have some grit about them. They will definitely not be going down without putting up a fight.
They have stopped the rot, having lost four games on the bounce before this one, and Kieran McKenna’s team turned in some real moments of quality, too.
Broadhead showed plenty of composure for his opener, and Delap’s thumping first-time finish for the second was a thing of beauty, too.
Not that the defence did not perform well – Palmer and O’Shea, in particular, made vital interventions to keep Bournemouth out before Evanilson got on the scoresheet.
McKenna’s team seem happier on the road than at home, and will not have given up hope of dragging themselves to safety despite the gap above them.
A crucial clash with Wolves awaits this weekend — an opportunity McKenna will be desperate to seize.
Club reports
Bournemouth report | Ipswich report
What the managers said
Andoni Iraola: "We are in a bad period. They scored two goals with two shots on target, that was the worst part as we controlled the game. We had chances one minute before the 1-0 when the defender [Dara O'Shea] cleared off the line and those are the small margins when you are in a bad moment and everything is against you."
Kieran McKenna: "I'm really proud and there is a little bit of relief after the last 10 minutes. Really proud of the performance in terms of how hard we worked, the two goals we scored, the result and what we showed defensively. There's still belief, a lot of togetherness and you can see that as a team so it was a good night for us."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Liam Delap has scored 11 top-flight goals for Ipswich this season with only Marcus Stewart (19 in 2000-01) netting more in a single Premier League campaign for the Tractor Boys.
Ipswich secured their first win against Bournemouth in any competition since September 1996 (3-0 in the League Cup), ending a five-game winless run against the Cherries (D4 L1).
Bournemouth are winless in their last five Premier League games (D1 L4), losing four successive home top-flight matches for the first time.
Ipswich have made 90 changes to their starting XI’s in the Premier League this season, more than any other side (Man City next with 87). The Tractor Boys are one of just two teams that are yet to name the same starting line-up for back-to-back games in the top-flight this term (along with Brighton).
