Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia

Ipswich Town seal Premier League promotion, Leeds United miss out

sportsmole.co.uk, 4 May 2024, 13:23
Ipswich Town have recorded a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town to seal promotion to the Premier League.

Kieran McKenna's side could have ended a 22-year spell away from the top flight with a draw against opponents who had been all but relegated from the Championship.

However, goals in either half from Wes Burns and Omari Hutchinson ensured that it was a comfortable afternoon for the Tractor Boys, who were also aided by Leeds United losing 2-1 to Southampton at Elland Road.

As a result of Leicester City losing 2-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers, Ipswich finish just one point adrift of the champions in the standings.

Ipswich keep fate in own hands during first half

Although their automatic promotion hopes remained in the balance, there was a party atmosphere inside Portman Road amid optimism over a routine afternoon, even in these circumstances.

That is how it proved to be during the first half. Ipswich completely dominated their lowly opponents and Wes Burns's coolly-taken finish from inside the penalty area was the least they deserved from their performance in the opening 45 minutes.

Up at Elland Road, Leeds were struggling to shake off the manner of their 4-0 reverse at Queens Park Rangers last time out, with Adam Armstrong putting Southampton into the lead in the 18th minute.

While Leeds soon responded through Joel Piroe's powerful finish, Kyle Walker-Peters teed up Will Smallbone to sweep home from close range in the 35th minute.

A scenario was subsequently created where Huddersfield and Leeds each needed to score twice after the break to prevent Ipswich from being promoted.

Ipswich coast to automatic promotion

Within three minutes of the restart, Omari Hutchinson ensured that Huddersfield needed to score three times to dramatically change the script.

The Chelsea loanee cut inside to find himself on the edge of the area before unleashing a low strike that found the bottom corner.

As a result of that goal, the remainder of the second half was a precession, with Leeds also remaining adrift to Southampton at Elland Road and left to turn their attention to the playoffs.

West Brom, Norwich seal playoff spots

The two remaining playoff places went to West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, with Hull City's 1-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle ultimately ensuring that they would miss out regardless of the other results.

West Brom would record a 3-0 win over Preston North End at The Hawthorns to finish in fifth place, setting up a playoff semi-final against Southampton.

Meanwhile, Norwich lost 1-0 at Birmingham City, who have still been relegated, to leave them facing Leeds in the last four of the playoffs.

Top News

13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Championship title hopefuls Leeds United will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they travel to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday lunchtime. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League courtesy of a 4-1 victory over 10-man Real Sociedad in the second leg of their last-16 contest in the competition on Thursday night. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and made Europa League history as Manchester United came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 4-1. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea maintained their flawless record in the Conference League as they defeated Copenhagen 1-0 on Thursday, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory and booking their place in the quarter-finals. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of ending a 17-year trophy drought remain alive thanks to a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, which sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides looking to move further clear of the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone go head-to-head on Saturday as Kasimpasa welcome Alanyaspor to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams looking to bounce back from defeats meet on Saturday as Istanbul Basaksehir host Trabzonspor at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Off the back of a narrow loss to Inter Miami in their last league outing, Charlotte FC will host FC Cincinnati in their latest MLS fixture at the Bank of America Stadium on Saturday evening. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table will go head-to-head as Konyaspor welcome Besiktas to the Torku Arena. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep will be looking to secure three successive victories for the first time this season when they welcome relegation-threatened Kayserispor to Gaziantep Stadium on Saturday. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Kansas City will be looking to snap their run of five defeats from their opening five games when they play host to Minnesota United at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday morning. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton welcome West Ham United to Goodison Park for a bottom-half Premier League contest on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford boss Thomas Frank has revealed that Fabio Carvalho faces an uphill battle to play again this season. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has named Ayden Heaven in his starting side for Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg with Real Sociedad. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Mauricio Pochettino has told talkSPORT he dreams of returning to Tottenham one day. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea and Copenhagen have confirmed their starting lineups for Thursday's Conference League fixture at Stamford Bridge. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes Pep Guardiola's side will need to score at least two goals if they wish to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santos president Marcelo Teixeira is hopeful that the club will be able to sign Neymar to a fresh contract. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Erling Haaland will attempt to set a fresh Premier League record when Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Former Premier League striker Jermain Defoe has exclusively told Sports Mole he does not believe that Darwin Nunez can rescue his career at Liverpool. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Real Sociedad midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is reportedly unavailable for their second leg clash Manchester United due to visa issues. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in Lille forward Jonathan David. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have confirmed that Ferland Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines with the muscular problem that he picked up during Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United could be without up to four players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton are set to be without five players for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk UEFA have revealed that they will "enter discussions" with FIFA and IFAB over a potential rule change following Julian Alvarez's controversial spot-kick in Wednesday's Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton manager David Moyes will renew acquaintances with one of his former clubs West Ham United when they do battle at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion could be without up to seven players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be without at least four players for Saturday's Premier League clash Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia's battle to stay out of the La Liga relegation zone will continue on Saturday night, when they head to Estadi Montilivi to tackle a Girona outfit that are without a victory since the start of February.