Tottenham Spank Ipswich Town 4-1
Brennan Johnson scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur continued their upturn in form with victory against Ipswich Town.
But the visitors weathered that storm to take a two-goal lead midway through the first half, with Son Heung-Min twice setting up the recalled Johnson to finish past Alex Palmer.
The first was a simple goalline tap-in, but the second was a controlled finish from Johnson that silenced the home crowd after their side’s strong start.
Ipswich, looking for just a second Premier League win at Portman Road this season, halved the deficit when Omari Hutchinson swept a superb strike past Guglielmo Vicario after being teed up by Jack Clarke.
Substitute Luke Woolfenden then thought he had drawn his side level when the defender headed home at the back post following a free-kick, but the offside flag denied him a first Premier League goal of his career.
Kieran McKenna’s side continued to push for a leveller but Djed Spence put the game beyond doubt with a 77th-minute strike past Palmer that deflected off Woolfenden.
Dejan Kulusevski took advantage of a tiring Ipswich to add a fourth on the break six minutes from time with a low curling strike in off the post.
Spurs moved up to 12th in the table with a third consecutive Premier League success for the first time since December 2023.
Struggling Ipswich remained third bottom and five points from safety having failed to win any of their last seven Premier League games.
Town boss McKenna wanted a fast start from his side at Portman Road – and that’s exactly what they did.
Delap – tracked by a host of Premier League rivals – forced Vicario into a good save with barely 60 seconds gone, before prodding agonisingly wide when he burst through a minute later.
He was then unfortunate to hit the post with a superb glancing header shortly afterwards.
But Ipswich seemed to fade after that and Spurs took advantage.
The ease with which the visitors cut through his defence for the goals will worry McKenna, as will the inability to build on Hutchinson’s first-half goal.
Ipswich were ruthlessly exploited on the counter-attack, and their fight to avoid relegation dented further by Wolves’ 1-0 win at Bournemouth.
“We created more than enough chances, but we have to keep working,” McKenna told BBC Match of the Day.
“We know the group is working well in many aspects. To win, we have to improve, there are still improvements in the group.
“There is no doubt they’re on a good track, but we’re into February and the games start to tick along and we need to pick up points.”
Supporters acknowledged their effort at full-time, but the reality is McKenna’s men must regroup quickly with a trip to Manchester United on Wednesday – and overturn a five-point gap to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
