Ipswich pulls off stunning comeback over Fulham
Ipswich Town completed a stunning comeback as late goals from Abdoul Ouattara and Dara O'Shea sealed a memorable 2-1 home win over Fulham in the Premier League.
The result means Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa is still winless in his first six Premier League games in charge, with the pressure mounting on the Spaniard, while Ipswich has secured a third league win of the campaign.
After a tepid start to the contest, Julio Enciso had the first opening of the game, whistling an attempt past the right-hand post.
David Affengruber headed wide from Alex Iwobi’s left-wing centre, before Christian Walton repelled Sander Berge’s rasping drive at the near post.
Gonzalo Garcia thought he had put his side ahead early in the second half, but Issa Diop did enough to make a crucial goalline block, after some good work from Oscar Bobb down the byline.
Arbeloa’s men eventually found the back of the net in the 55th minute as Diop’s headed clearance kindly fell to Ryan Sessegnon 25 yards from goal, with the left-back fizzing a low strike into the bottom-right corner.
The hosts almost responded with an equaliser, but Emersonn crashed a header against the upright after Enciso’s exquisite cross, with Bobb then lashing a shot over at the other end.
However, in a remarkable ending, the Tractor Boys levelled in the 88th minute with Ouattara picking out the bottom-left corner from outside the box, before O’Shea glanced a header in at the near post after Jack Clarke’s free-kick.
Kevin looked to add a further twist to this enthralling contest, but the Brazilian was brilliantly denied by the outstretched leg of Walton at the near post.
Gary O'Neil was full of praise for his Ipswich Town side after the game.
“We deserved the win today, to perform the way we did," he said.
“We were the better side, we were in control. We conceded a goal from 30 yards, which was tough to take when you are the team that has the momentum.
"But we are a fit side, they can run [the group]. So, we were able to make five changes from the bench which had a positive impact.
"We get the win that we deserve, which is important. A lot of work went into it, the players were excellent, they deserve a lot of credit.”
Meanwhile, Arbeloa continues his search for a win, and Fulham now sits dead last 20th in the Premier League, with pressure mounting on the former Real Madrid boss.
"It is painful to lose three points in the way that we did. It is something we need to accept and prepare the same for the next game," he said.
“We need to keep improving. We did many things well, we played well for 60–70 minutes, but in the end we conceded two late goals and lost the game.
“If you don't take your chances, your opponent will. We are creating so many chances during games, if we want to win games we need to start taking chances.”
