Ipswich (a); The Review

Random star performer

Dancing on the shallow roof between the upper and lower tiers in the away end at Portman Road seems to have increasingly become a rite of passage in recent years for Norwich fans celebrating the numerous goals we have scored there. It inevitably makes for some absolutely fantastic photographs – and the gentleman lying flat out on the roof won the prize hands down this year. I don’t know if the Tate has any free slots coming up, but I’d pay money to see an exhibition of all those photos together.

Moment of the match

Without question, it’s the back to front move that created the game’s only goal. Gunn’s accurate distribution found Wes, who held off a challenge and improvised a cross-field pass to set Yanic off on one of his characteristically direct runs. Delegating to Stiepermann on the edge of the box, a simple square pass found James Maddison in criminal amounts of space, with ample time to pick his spot and curl past the usually effective but rooted Bialkowski. Maddison doesn’t do tap-ins, and the finger-to-lips celebration as he peeled off in front of the home fans is one that will go down in derby folklore.

Farke watch

It’s an ACN editorial decision that ‘Referee watch’ has been replaced by ‘Farke watch’, because let’s face it, he’s much more interesting – and what better place to start this assessment than Portman Road. It was another green parka kind of day, but unlike last week, there were no centre circle incursions – the final whistle was greeted with just a determined fist pump. The true measure of the man was demonstrated during the post-match celebrations. Farke could quite easily have come over to the away end and milked the applause, which would have been rapturous. But he left that to the players, instead shaking the hand of and sharing a moment with each of the Norwich fans in the disabled area on the opposite side of the pitch. It’s becoming increasingly evident we have a class act on our hands in more ways than one.

Biggest positive to take

It’s a little known fact about the East Anglian derby that, as well as important things like the ability to walk smugly into work or school on the Monday morning, the winning team also gets three points out of it. Five away wins in a row with only two goals conceded is an incredible achievement even before you bring in context like the tricky opposition involved, the two away games preceding that run, and our record last season. Up to sixth with the formula of drawing at home, winning away – it works for me, especially at Portman Road.

Weekend whinge

I’ve got nothing – not even the early kick-off and a rail replacement bus full of Ipswich fans could spoil this one.

Atmosphere rating

As raucous as it’s ever been in the away end, particularly when the players came literally bounding over at the final whistle. No understated ‘thanks for your support’ clapping here – this was a full-on celebration, with Timm Klose and Harrison Reed seeming to particularly enjoy themselves. Ipswich found an additional 10,000 fans from somewhere, but on the basis of both performance and atmosphere it’s hard to see them wanting to return to Portman Road any time soon. The fact that it was a furry horse mascot with a drum that was making most of the noise in the stand to our left says it all – and if the ‘Is it cold in our shadow?’ and ‘You’ve never won Farke all’ banners didn’t look stupid enough before the game, they certainly did after it.

Summary

After the usual horrible build-up week in which seemingly more confidence than usual was emanating on the Suffolk side of the border, what an absolute pleasure to stuff it back down their throats with the perfect away performance. It doesn’t get any better than winning at Portman Road, and while Ipswich had their moments, there can be no doubt that this was an entirely deserved victory. There’s barely time to get our voices back before Tuesday night, when 8,800 Norwich fans will descend on North London. Six in a row? You never know…