Tottenham miss their cue to make up ground as Ipswich make them pay for another tame start
Tottenham (0) 1 Bentancur 69
Ipswich Town (2) 2 Szmodics 23, Delap 43
Spurs' slow starts have finally come home to roost.
They have made bad first half displays something of a habit and have now conceded the first goal in their last four games in the league at the TH Stadium - and 13 out of 15 league games at home in 2024.
That is bound to put a strain on the powers of recovery.
In the previous three games, they managed to hit back to win. Not this time. Rodrigo Bentancur's goal in the second half promised to be the springboard to another fightback, but it did not materialise.
The Tractor Boys, without a win until today, have finally got one and it is reward for an adventurous first half and an obdurate second. Spurs were not great for large parts of the game.
Tottenham were 2-0 down at the interval. They had already been given a warning that the winless visitors were not afraid to go on the front foot when Cameron Burgess headed against the bar.
Then, a ball slung in from the right by Jens Cajuste was flicked on at the near post by Liam Delap - getting just ahead of Cristian Romero - and Sammy Szomidics found the bottom corner to Guglielmo Vicario's left with a perfectly-executed overhead kick.
Just before half-time, Omari Hutchinson burst clear of Bentancur near the centre spot and the ball was worked out to Szmodics for a low cross that Vicario could only help palm out onto Radu Dragusin and the ball cannoned off the defender for Delap to bury from a yard.
Spurs fans, some of whom booed off the team at the break, demanded a response. It was not long in coming. Son's angled drive was tipped over by Arijanet Muric and from the corner, Dom Solanke had the ball in the net.
That 'goal' was chalked off by a VAR intervention as the ball struck the striker on the arm on its way in, but the urgency and mood change was under way.
Solanke, who was denied by the keeper in the first half after a good shot on the turn, went close again when he just cleared the bar with an effort from distance.
With the pressure mounting, a goal seemed inevitable and it was no surprise when Bentacur met a Pedro Porro corner to head home at the near post.
The real surprise was that Spurs did not use that launchpad to really make the wilting pink-shirted visitors suffer even more. Timo Werner came on to blast a good chance way over and at the death, a defensive mix up gave Solanke a free hit, which he crashed into Muric, as the keeper made himself big.
At times, Ipswich's only outlet was the scampering of ex Chelsea man Hutchinson. But somehow they held on. For Spurs, the record now reads five wins and five defeats. Mid-table melancholia is the current order of the day.
Spurs: (4-3-3) Vicario - Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie - Kulusevski, Bentancur (Bissouma 84), Sarr (Werner 66) - Brennan Johnson (Maddison 84), Solanke, Son
Tractor Boys: (5-4-1) Muric - Ben Johnson, Tuanzebe, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis - Hutchinson, Morsy, Cajuste (Luongo 92), Szmodics (Clarke 70) - Delap (Hirst 70)
Attendance: 61,505
Comments