Two goals inside the first ten minutes for Spurs, engineered in the main by some poor Town defending, was the catalyst for this result. The Blues shot themselves in the foot with careless play at the back. Town lost possession in a dangerous area which led to the first from Ryan Sessegnon, and the second was the result of some abysmal goalkeeper from David Cornell, who was not helped by a backpass he probably did not want from Luke Woolfenden. As he attempted to clear off the floor he only succeeded in directing the ball to the foot of Hojbjerg who played it through, and Son Heung-min finished off with aplomb, as one would expect.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho must have been impressed with his sides home performance but in truth, they were not really pushed, as the visitors placed the first two goals on a plate for the Premier League side. Son added a third before the interval with a typical Son goal, as he took the ball wide before chipping elegantly over the body of Cornell in the Town goal.
As for Town, they rarely threatened, although it has to be said that they played some nice passing football without threatening in any way. It was a shame really that the Blues conceded two early goals that were totally avoidable, and must have impacted upon their confidence – especially in defence where they were sometimes found wanting.
In the second half manager, Paul Lambert changed the whole of his team, whilst Mourinho made a few selective changes to his side – including replacing two-goal hero Son at the break, and these wholesale changes seemed to spur Ipswich on. The first fifteen minutes of the second half was evenly balanced and Ipswich looked pretty solid at the back. To be honest, this side looked a more composed outfit than the first eleven. Jon Nolan then entered the fray after Brett McGavin was withdrawn after only coming on in the second half. One can only assume it was a minor injury of some sort because there was no indication of a problem.
Unlike the first half, Ipswich continued to have a fair share of possession and although they failed to test any of the three keepers Spurs decided to use, I was impressed with their collective team-spirit and work rate. You could argue that with a new side in the second half, this half effectively ended 0-0 so there is much to be pleased about with the squad as a whole and I am quite sure, manager Paul Lambert will have learned much about his players from this experience.
Tottenham: Lloris (captain), Foyth, Alderweireld, Davies, Sessegnon, Winks, Hojbjerg, Gedson, Dele, Lucas, Son. Substitutes: Hart, Gazzaniga, Carter-Vickers, Bowden, Clarke, White, Cirkin, Scarlett, Devine.
Ipswich Town: Cornell, Vincent-Young, Nsiala, Woolfenden, Ward (captain), Skuse, Bishop, Judge, Dobra, Edwards, Drinan. Substitutes: Holy, Donacien, Chambers, Ndaba, Kenlock, McGavin, Downes, Dozzell, Lankester, Jackson, Sears, Smith, Folami, El Mizouni, Nolan.
The referee was Kevin Friend.
