Southampton 2-2 Ipswich Town: The battle for the last automatic promotion spot in the Championship goes into the final day of the season after a dramatic finish at St Mary’s.
Southampton’s Ryan Manning equalized (Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Ipswich scored a late equaliser, taking them one step closer to automatic promotion from the Championship and ending Southampton’s hopes of breaking into the top two. The Tractor Boys almost secured second place with a win against St Mary’s, but must win the final game of the season to finish the job after a dramatic draw.
Wes Barnes put Ipswich ahead with a powerful shot after some poor defending by the home team. But the lead didn’t last long as Ryan Manning’s free kick deflected past Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton.
Manning charged forward on the counter-attack, and in the 80th minute Larin scored what seemed to be the winning goal with a composed finish. However, Kieran McKenna’s side secured a point when Jack Clarke smashed a loose ball into the bottom corner, substitute McKenna almost sealing the win before Daniel Peretz made a fine save at the end.
This means Saints have to settle for a place in the play-offs, leaving Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough the chance of finishing second on the final day of the season.
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Tonda Eckert’s side are fifth on 77 points, behind Boro on 79, while Millwall are third on 80 points. Ipswich are second on 81 points but need to beat QPR on Saturday to seal promotion.
Saints travel to Preston on the final day of the season before turning their attention to the play-offs.
Southampton’s 20-game unbeaten run was halted by Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday, but they responded in style against their promotion rivals to produce an enthralling 20 minutes from start to finish on the south coast.
Kieran McKenna’s side remain in pole position for promotion (Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
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However, Southampton knew they had to win to remain in the race for second place and Clark’s sloppy defending meant they were low in the table and their hopes ended. And they were able to keep Clarke from scoring again and pushing Ipswich up, thanks to Peretz.
Still, making the playoffs is a nice reward for the Saints, who failed to block early in the season. When Eckert took over as manager of the Saints on November 2, the team sat in 21st place in the championship after a dismal start to the season under coach Will Still. The 33-year-old has achieved incredible results in his first senior management role, guiding Saints to the top of the table.
Ipswich finished 19th in the Premier League last season to Southampton’s 20th, and have finished second best to Coventry throughout this season. They host mid-table QPR, who have nothing to play for on Saturday, and remain strong favorites to finish second.
Millwall hosts relegated Oxford, while Boro face their toughest game yet with a chance of making the final play-offs on the line against Wrexham, who need a win to secure sixth place, which also includes Hull City and Derby County.
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