Norwich City 1-0 Ipswich Town: Canaries extend unbeaten run to 15 years
A stunning free-kick from Chilean midfielder Marcelino Nunez saw Norwich City retain the title of the “Pride of Anglia” with a 1-0 victory at Carrow Road against Ipswich Town.
The win continues a spell of good form at home for the Canaries, who have not lost a game at their home ground since November 2023, with a 3-2 win over Cardiff City.
Only one change was needed for David Wagner’s side today, with experienced centre-back Shane Duffy stepping up for the injured versatile Jacob Sorensen.
Match rundown
The game began strong and fast-paced, but no chances of realistic prospect broke through. Spanish winger Borja Sainz had his half-volley fly over the crossbar early on in the game, while Cameron Burgess followed in Sainz’s footsteps with his header following an Ipswich corner.
Brazilian holding-midfielder Gabriel Sara tried his luck with a free-kick, but the effort was too high and just wide of the mark.
The referee chose not to show former Manchester United prospect Axel Tuanzebe a red card after he brought down Josh Sargent around the half-hour mark, with Tuanzebe acting as the last man. The breakthrough in the match came via a well-struck Nunez free-kick, which found the mark off the right-side post.
The second half continued in the same manner as the first, with both teams not creating many golden opportunities. Sainz had an opportunity to score a flick after controlling a Sam McCallum long ball with ease, but could not generate enough power to beat Ipswich shot-stopper Vaclav Hladky.
Sargent was brought down by Sam Morzy in the 60th minute after being through on goal, but the referee, Matthew Donohue, decided to not award Norwich with a foul. Wagner’s counter-attacking play was causing problems time and again for the visitors, but a second goal did not seem likely, until Hladky was forced to get down low to deny a low powerful strike from Sargent, with the current US international in fine form. An opportunity arose when Sargent broke through the Ipswich defensive line, with his back-pass to Sainz seeing the resulting shot rise above the goal and into the Barclay Stand.
Ipswich finally created a strong opening with a well-placed Leif Davis pass finding Conor Chaplin in the box, but his shot could only find the River End. Scotland international Angus Gunn, Norwich shot-stopper and son of Bryan Gunn, made a timely save to deny former AFC Wimbledon forward Ali Al-Hamadi as the clock rolled in into the final 5 minutes.
Norwich kept their strong defensive resolve to see out the game and secure all three points, whilst also extending the unbeaten run against the noisy neighbours to 14 games, and 15 years since the Tractor Boys last managed to win an East Anglian derby.
Squad Lists:
Norwich City: Gunn (GK); Stacey; Duffy; Gibson; McCallum; McClean (C); Nunez; Sara; Sainz (Batth 90+2), Barnes (Gibbs 75), Sargent.
Unused subs: Long (GK), Van Hooijdonk, Fassnacht, Fisher, Welch, Aboh, Montoia
Goals: Nunez (39)
Ipswich Town: Hladky (GK); Tuanzebe (Clarke 61), Burgess, Woolfenden, Davis; Morsy (C), Luongo (Taylor 74), Chaplin (Harness 74), Broadhead (Sarmiento 61), Hutchinson, Moore (Al-Hamadi 74)
Unused subs: Walton, Ball, Jackson, Travis
Bookings: Tuanzebe (31)
HT: 1-0
FT: 1-0
Referee: Matthew Donohue
Venue: Carrow Road
Attendance: 27,001
