Leicester City 2-0 Ipswich Town: Stuart Watson’s verdict.

Ipswich Town defeated 2-0 to Leicester City yesterday. Stuart Watson comments on the action.
Jamie Vardy shushes the Ipswich Town fans after scoring on his big Foxes farewell.

Jamie Vardy silences the Ipswich Town crowd after scoring his final goal for the Foxes. VARDY’S FITTING FINISH This game was all about Jamie Vardy’s goodbye to the Foxes. The Premier League icon looked steely-eyed during the hyped pre-match build-up, which included big banners unfurled from the roof of the stands, every home fan holding a ‘thank you Vardy’ flag, and Kasabian turned up full volume. In his 500th and final appearance for the club, the 38-year-old scored his 200th goal with some customary deft movement and a lovely reverse finish. The celebration was much more appropriate. Instead of enjoying his big moment with his adoring fans, he raised the corner flag and stared intently towards the away end.

“I missed a couple before that, but once JJ (Justin James) put me through there, I was never going to miss it,” he told the fans in an emotional on-court interview afterward. “Obviously getting the dogs’ abuse from the away fans up there, there was only one place I was going.”

Leicester broke the stalemate after Jack Clarke slipped in the final third. (Image by Ross Halls) Goals Against Vardy’s huge moment came after Jack Clarke’s final-third error converted into a quick counterattack. Recently, Arsenal and Newcastle experienced attacks that quickly turned into goals. Leicester’s second goal, in the 69th minute, was the result of a series of blunders. A pass across the line was possible due to a lack of tightness in midfield. Leif Davis was guilty of being lured within. Alex Palmer is then defeated at the near post. The latter, after a strong start with the Blues following a January transfer, has had a few questionable moments in recent weeks.

Ipswich were always going to concede a decent number of goals this season given the level of opposition. Too many times, however, they’ve come from acts of self-harm rather than world class play. That’s been frustrating in the extreme.

Omari Hutchinson missed two good opportunities for Ipswich in the closing moments of the first half. (Image by Ross Halls) Chances missed Another big reason Town has struggled to score enough points this season is a lack of ruthlessness. In this game, the Blues had 20 shots and 31 touches inside the opposing box, but they only forced the goalkeeper to make one important save. Leif Davis, who was back to his offensive best following a three-game ban, hit the near post early on and had a close-range goal disallowed late on due to tight offside.

Omari Hutchinson missed two excellent opportunities near the end of the first half. On both instances, he shot far over from an excellent position inside the box. Hirst hit a wayward header wide and saw a clipped one-on-one effort saved by Jakub Stolarczyk. Jack Clarke didn’t fire the trigger fast enough on a few times. Julio Enciso didn’t have his shooting boots on either, dragging two shots wide and firing another tamely at the keeper. Substitute Nathan Broadhead also blasted wide from the edge of the six-yard box.

Julio Enciso runs away from Wilfred Ndidi. (Image: Ross Halls)

TOO MANY INDIVIDUALS

Hirst, the lone striker, got only eight touches in 71 minutes on the pitch. A major reason for this, I believe, was that the three players behind him – Hutchinson, Enciso, and Clarke – all played too much for themselves rather than the team. The trio each had entertaining, clever moments that drew fouls and created opportunities. They all had frustrating moments where they were guilty of tunnel vision and attempting to beat one man too many. Every squad needs one or two X-Factor ‘can make something out of nothing’ players. Having three dribblers on the same side is potentially hazardous. Town has definitely missed the offensive versatility of a straight line speedster on the right like Wes Burns and Chiedozie Ogbene, plus a tenacious, last shoulder, penalty box sniffer like Sammie Szmodics.

It’s going to be important to find a better attacking balance next season.

George Hirst and Dara O’Shea, pictured after the final whistle. (Image: Ross Halls)

STAYING BALANCED

Ipswich have dropped to 19th. If they are to climb back above Leicester and finish as the best of the bottom three, they must defeat West Ham at home on the penultimate day and pray that the Foxes lose at Bournemouth. There’s no denying it: even with the significant caveat of a crushing injury list, the second half of this Premier League season has been deeply disappointing. In 2025, the league standings are: P18 W1 D4 L13 F17 A46. We all thought the Blues would learn and grow during the season, finishing stronger than they began. Instead, confidence has waned, and mistakes have been repeated. Simply because ‘the voyage’ back to the Premier League was spectacular, it doesn’t mean the hierarchy/manager/players are immune from criticism for aspects of the way this campaign has unravelled.

However, and I can already see a few eyes rolling, I firmly believe that a healthy dose of perspective is still necessary. It’s worth remembering that Ipswich were significant underdogs in the Championship promotion battle against Leicester and Southampton. The Blues had just escaped a four-year stint in League One and had been out of the top flight for more than two decades, whereas the Foxes had only recently won the FA Cup and the Saints had spent more than a decade at the top of English football.

It’s easy to forget that Ipswich was outplayed in all four games against those two, but they still managed to take eight points from a possible 12 courtesy to last-gasp goals in three of them. This season, despite only picking only two points from the same games, the Blues have obviously closed the gap in terms of overall performance. Both games against Leicester and the home game against Southampton might have gone either way. And it is widely acknowledged that Ipswich is currently in the most solid position of the three clubs. Losing constantly hurts, I understand. However, failure can teach us more than success. Let’s all hope that’s the case for a group that, let’s remember, are virtually all new to this level.

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Leicester City 2-0 Ipswich Town: Stuart Watson’s verdict

Leicester City 2-0 Ipswich Town: Stuart Watson’s verdict.

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