Ipswich Town vs Southampton. Premier League.
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Ipswich 1-2 Southampton: Aro Muric errors help Southampton to victory at relegation rivals Ipswich
Report and free match highlights as Aro Muric is at fault for Joe Aribo's opener and Paul Onuachu's late winner for Southampton; goalkeeper has made a string of errors this season and Ipswich remain in relegation zone, despite Liam Delap strike; Saints still bottom but have hope
Saturday 1 February 2025 19:56, UK
Aro Muric mistakes once again cost Ipswich, with the goalkeeper twice at fault as relegation rivals Southampton snatched a 2-1 win at Portman Road to keep their Premier League survival hopes alive.
No keeper has made more errors leading to goals this season in the Premier League and Muric was only restored to the starting XI because his replacement Christian Walton was injured last weekend. This is another game Muric won't want to watch back.
In the first half, he allowed Saints to score the opener against the run of play, failing to keep out Joe Aribo's volley. Then, after Liam Delap had pulled Ipswich level and with the hosts pushing for a winner, he was at fault again with three minutes to play, parrying Kamaldeen Sulemana's shot into the path of Paul Onuachu.
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That was a hammer blow for Ipswich, who were set to move out of the relegation zone on goal difference thanks to Leicester's loss at Everton. Instead they remain in the mire, a point behind the Foxes and three off Wolves, who leapfrogged them with a Saturday Night Football win over Aston Villa.
Southampton - celebrating just their second win of the season - are 10 adrift of safety but after ending a run of six straight league losses under Ivan Juric, they will head back to the south coast buoyant and believing they could yet pull off a stunning survival story.
The defeat for Ipswich was a cruel one, especially given the way they'd responded to conceding the opener. Delap - their chief threat all afternoon - forced Ramsdale to save from a tight angle after equalising with a cool one-on-one conversion when Jan Bednarek gave him too much space.
Shot-happy Julio Enciso also kept the Saints keeper busy, while ref Michael Oliver waved away penalty shouts from the home side for handball from Kyle Walker-Peters and for Bednarek's challenge on Delap - rightly so.
But Southampton - despite losing Taylor Harwood-Bellis and then his replacement Jack Stephens to injury - grew into the contest and in the final 24 minutes Ipswich didn't have a shot, leaving them vulnerable to Saints' late raid.
Only Southampton have won fewer points at home this season than Ipswich and this will go down as a painful loss for Kieran McKenna's side - as some boos at full time showed.
Morrison: Muric is not good enough
Clinton Morrison gave a damning assessment of Aro Muric after the Ipswich goalkeeper's mistakes against Southampton proved costly.
"The problem with Ipswich is the goalkeeper is not good enough," he said. "He made two big mistakes. The first one, a shot from Joe Aribo, it's not that powerful, just goes through him. Poor goalkeeping.
"Then the second one, instead of parrying it away, which you're taught as young goalkeepers, he parries it straight back into danger.
"He has cost them quite a few points and come the end of the season that could cost Ipswich. It's not just down to him but today there were two big moments. When you're playing against teams at the bottom you have to do better."
McKenna rues 'two soft goals' conceded vs Southampton
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna:
"Very disappointing. It was an important game for us. We performed really well in the first half and should be ahead at half-time. We created more than enough chances to win.
"We conceded two soft goals and it feels on us to have lost today. We were in complete control in the first half until the point of their goal. A good start turns into giving something to the opposition."
Juric: Win at Ipswich important for me, the players and fans
Southampton boss Ivan Juric:
"It's important to the players, to the fans. We deserved it. Before we did some really good games, against Man Utd we didn't get the points. Today we suffered a little bit more but great character, quality in the final and we won the game.
"I told the players, 'Tomorrow morning we have training and we have to believe we are not such a bad team and to win other games'. We are fighting, we don't want to give up, we have character and we want to play like we did today.
"I had the feeling from the beginning we were doing a good job. We were really unlucky in some games. In the Premier League even if you do everything good you can lose. Today was important for me, for everybody to win and get more confidence."