Sunday’s game between Ipswich Town and Norwich City was temporarily halted due to fans throwing items onto the pitch. The fixture between the East Anglian rivals was ticking into the final minutes when the referee approached both managers. The game was temporarily suspended as he clarified that items were being lobbed onto the field.
Officials were initially required to clear a lighter that had landed on the playing surface. A bottle appeared just minutes later, forcing play to cease as Norwich attempted to get themselves back into the match. They were unable to do so, though, as Ipswich held on for their first derby victory in 16 years.
Cedric Kipre opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half, slamming the ball home as it dropped at his feet in the box. It came after a corner delivery that Norwich failed to clear away.
The visitors equalised within minutes as Oscar Schwartau got lucky with a deflection, which saw his speculative effort from range creep into the bottom corner.
Jaden Philogene restored Ipswich’s advantage with a rocket just before the break, scoring his fifth goal of the campaign.
Things got better for the Blues when Jack Clarke added a third in the closing stages, turning the ball into an empty net after Ivan Azon’s effort cannoned off the base of the post.
After the final whistle, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna said: “We looked back with the group this week at special moments in the derby and part of that was ‘this is your chance to step up and have your moment’.
“To to see somebody [Philogene] grab the game by the scruff of the neck and do something incredible was almost something of a throwback.
“It wasn’t the thing that decided the game by itself. We were the better team and had the better chances right through the game, but it was a big moment by a young player with a super talent. It was great to see.
“It’s game by game, it’s a really tough division. We had a very difficult summer, with a huge turnover (of players) but now that’s three home games in a row we’ve won.
“I knew the motivation was really strong, I believe in the talent of the group, I think we’re getting better in terms of our football and if you do enough of the right things over the course of 90 minutes then you have a chance to win.
“We’re delighted to have done it today, delighted to have ticked that one off. For the players and supporters to go through that big-game experience together and get the win is really important.”
