Beaming McKenna savours Ipswich's winning moment
The Guardian|November 11, 2024
The away end's explosion of noise and limbs at full time left no question about what this meant to Ipswich.
Nick Ames
Beaming McKenna savours Ipswich's winning moment

They had waited 22 and a half years for a Premier League win and the nagging thought remained, throughout nine minutes of added time, that they might fall just short yet again. But when Aro Muric saved from Dominic Solanke the outcome was virtually assured and what a feather in the cap this was for Kieran McKenna, whose superbly coached side will feel their season has liftoff now.

McKenna, beaming as he walked off the pitch, had done a number on the club where he started his career. It said everything about Ipswich's performance that the points went where they were deserved. The away side were excellent in the first half, scoring well-worked goals through Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap before hanging on once Rodrigo Bentancur's header threatened to transform the picture. They look a convincing top-flight proposition.

It was harder to define Tottenham after a muddled afternoon's work. A week previously they had given Aston Villa a head start before blowing them away; West Ham received similar treatment last month; but they cannot always presume to skewer their opponents after the break. When Bentancur scored a switch appeared to have flicked but their pressure never quite materialised into an all-out siege.

This story is from the November 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the November 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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