Ipswich are back in the Premier League. And in what style. Folk in this part of Suffolk have become accustomed to promotion parties under Kieran McKenna and the latest certainly did not disappoint. Two early goals dismissed any fears of shredded nerves to ensure an afternoon of revelry could commence.
By the time a late third was added, the pitch perimeter was already lined with elated spectators ready to engulf their idols at the final whistle. No police presence was ever going to be sufficient to stop their invasion.
The post-match celebrations had it all: sprayed champagne, players’ children scoring on the pitch and selfies with the Ipswich minority stakeholder Ed Sheeran. Happy days, indeed.
“It’s probably been the hardest one,” said McKenna, of his third promotion in four full seasons at the Ipswich helm. “I know how hard we’ve had to work to turn it around. As a club, we had such a climb and a steep fall. We’ve had to rebuild this team under difficult circumstances and we deserve to be where we are today.”
It had not been the simple season many anticipated for a team widely expected to make an immediate return to the top flight after last year’s relegation. Given the swashbuckling style of their last ascent and their installation as title favourites this time around, there was a sense Ipswich had largely underperformed in a campaign that often flickered, but never really caught light.
“We started slow, which can happen, but we have steadily improved over the course of the year,” said McKenna. “It’s about how you finish.”
There was nothing underwhelming about their performance when it truly mattered. The manner in which they swiftly settled this promotion decider was as exhilarating as anything they had produced all season, laying siege on the Queens Park Rangers goal from the first whistle. It was a barrage as devastating as it was sublime and early goals from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene were no more than they deserved.
Job complete with a total absence of fuss, the remainder of the match could pass largely without incident before Kasey McAteer added a late third. No need for Ipswich to worry about any permutations that might have given Millwall or Middlesbrough designs on snatching the Championship’s second automatic promotion spot.
The feverish atmosphere had been evident around the stadium all morning, with flags flying and supporters singing themselves hoarse long before the players emerged on to the playing field. Tens of thousands had filled the streets with a fog of blue flares to greet the arrival of the players’ coach.
Ipswich burst out of the traps, pummelling their hapless opponents with wave after wave of blistering attack. Leif Davis’s belting low cross induced panic for the opener, allowing Hirst to tap in from barely a yard. Six minutes later, a wonderfully slick one-touch move culminated in Hirst playing in Philogene, who had time to settle himself and slot into the corner from eight yards.
QPR improved – it would have been impossible not to – as a content Ipswich eased off, and the visitors fired six unanswered shots at the end of the first half. But even then the best chances fell to the hosts, Philogene going close with a wonderful volley soon after half-time and Dara O’Shea heading inches past the upright, before McAteer tapped in a loose ball with five minutes remaining for Ipswich’s third.
“This year, everyone wanted us to fail but we’ve done it,” said Hirst. “It’s been difficult, we’ve made it hard for ourselves, but who cares, we’re back in the Premier League and that’s all that matters.”
Attention will soon turn to ensuring Ipswich’s next top-flight stay is not as brief as the last. Such concerns can wait, for now. This bank holiday weekend is for celebrating.
