Ipswich Town move eight points clear of Preston North End with 4-2 win
Ipswich Town went eight points clear of third-place Preston North End with a 4-2 win against the Lilywhites at Portman Road.
Goals from Conor Chaplin, Brandon Williams and Leif Davis put the Blues into a commanding 3-1 lead at half-time, but the visitors halved the deficit quickly after the restart. They couldn’t prevent Kayden Jackson from coming off the bench to win the game, however, sending Kieran McKenna’s men into the international break in second place.
Preston’s game plan was clear from the off. They set up with a back five, but also had three players shielding the defence out of possession. They were happy to let Town have the ball while implementing a high press and hitting on the counter.
They also targeted certain players to wind up. Ryan Ledson was given an early yellow card for a cynical foul on Brandon Williams, while Chaplin drew a foul from former Norwich City man Robbie Brady.
Conor Chaplin handed Ipswich the lead less than 20 minutes into the first half (Image: Stephen Waller)
Chaplin is a hard man to mark at the best of times, but teams never seem to pick him up from set pieces, allowing him to run off from the edge of the area and try his luck. That’s exactly what happened for the opening goal, where he picked up a low corner from Leif Davis before driving a powerful shot into the back of the net in the 18th minute.
They clearly needed it to force Preston out of their shell, and the confidence began to flow. Three minutes after the goal, Broadhead spotted goalkeeper Freddie Woodman off his line and opted to try and chip him from the halfway line, firing narrowly wide of the target.
Just a few seconds later, Williams was at it again, drawing a foul from Liam Lindsay, who was booked after halting his darting run down the right. Unsurprisingly, Davis was chosen to take it, but he curled the delivery over everyone and out for a goal kick.
Preston weren’t going to go by that script, however, undoing Town with a long ball from deep. Milutin Osmajic and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen both attacked it, with the latter carrying it into space before firing past Vaclav Hladky to equalise in the 27th minute.
Brandon Williams celebrates his second goal in a Town shirt (Image: Ross Halls)
The Blues went straight back to work. Seconds after the restart, Massimo Luongo was able to play George Hirst into space, allowing him to switch the ball onto his right foot and go for goal, forcing a good save from Woodman.
Broadhead looked to be the biggest threat in the final third, yet Town’s second goal came from a somewhat unlikely source. A quick counter saw Williams played into space, allowing him to bring the ball forward as Wes Burns was fouled. He ended up running half the length of the pitch before cutting into the box and firing a shot into the net off the post, restoring his side’s lead in 35th minute.
There was a clear chance to extend their lead after a somewhat passive period, which is exactly what Ipswich did in first-half stoppage time. Preston cleared their initial corner, but couldn’t beat Cameron Burgess to Williams’ recycled cross, allowing him to head across the face of goal to Hirst. The striker was quick to tee up Broadhead, who simply tapped it into the net to make it 3-1.
Chaplin and Burns both had chances to seal the win before the half-time whistle was blown, but Woodman stood tall to keep them out and limit Town’s advantage to two goals at the break.
Nathan Broadhead scored in Town’s final game before the October international break (Image: Stephen Waller)
After such a positive conclusion to the first start, there was a clear window for Ipswich to kill the game off quickly after the restart. It was Preston, however, who dominated proceedings after switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation, getting back into the game in the 52nd minute.
A dangerous free-kick was poorly cleared by Burgess, allowing substitute Ben Whiteman to rattle a shot into the net off Luke Woolfenden, making it 3-2.
Frustrations began to grow as the Blues struggled to impose themselves in the final third. Preston were quick to capitalise on their mistakes, but failed to find the goal to level things up. McKenna turned to his bench, three substitutions in the 65th minute and two in the 75th minute.
They all ended up combining in the 78th minute to win the game for Ipswich. Freddie Ladapo held the ball up well down the left, playing Marcus Harness into space. He, in turn, spotted Jack Taylor further ahead, with the former Peterborough United man playing Omari Hutchinson into the box.
Kayden Jackson came off the bench to seal the win for Town late on (Image: Stephen Waller)
From there, it was easy for the Chelsea loanee to cut it back for Jackson, who slid the ball into the net to make it 4-2, sending Town into the international break with another three points.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Williams; Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo (Taylor 75′); Burns (Jackson 65′), Chaplin (Harness 65′), Broadhead (Harness 65′); Hirst (Ladapo 75′)
