Ipswich Makes Premier League Return After 22 Years: Secures Promotion with Win Against Huddersfield
Ipswich Town marked their comeback to the Premier League after over two decades, clinching promotion from the Championship with a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield on Saturday.
Goals by Wes Burns and Omari Hutchinson sealed the Tractor Boys’ promotion, making them the fourth team in Premier League history to achieve consecutive promotions from the third tier to the top flight.
Leeds, aiming for a top-two finish, needed Ipswich to lose and a win against Southampton. However, their 2-1 loss to Southampton dashed their hopes, setting up a playoff semi-final against Norwich, managed by former Leeds boss Daniel Farke.
Despite the jubilant scenes at Portman Road, with fans flooding the pitch and lighting blue flares, Ipswich’s renowned supporter, Ed Sheeran, the club’s shirt sponsor, was absent from the celebrations.
The Suffolk side, recently acquired by American investors for a mere £40 million ($50 million), is now set to receive a substantial £200 million television revenue boost in the coming seasons.
Kieran McKenna, Ipswich’s manager, played a pivotal role in their ascent, earning accolades in his debut managerial stint. McKenna, once a Tottenham player before a career-ending hip injury, found success as a youth coach at Tottenham and later at Manchester United.
After coaching United’s first team under Jose Mourinho and continuing his role with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, McKenna made the move to Ipswich in 2021, orchestrating their remarkable rise to prominence.
“It means a lot, mostly seeing how much it means to everyone, the players, the supporters. To be one of the leaders of that is absolutely massive,” McKenna said.
“It’s a wonderful day, I’m very proud of everyone involved. It’s what we’ve done all year. It’s an incredible amount of effort.”
‘A great challenge’
Huddersfield had already been realistically relegated prior to Saturday due to their vastly inferior goal difference compared to their rivals at the bottom.
Burns settled any nerves among the home support when he fired low into the bottom corner on 27 minutes.
On-loan Chelsea winger Hutchinson has been one of the stars of Ipswich’s season and made sure McKenna’s men could relax by smashing home a second just three minutes into the second half.
Ipswich could face a fight just to hold on to the highly-rated McKenna, who has been linked with a move to Brighton should Roberto De Zerbi leave the Seagulls.
“I’m sure it’ll sink in in a couple of days. There’s a lot of work to do. It’ll start in a couple of days time,” McKenna said.
“The Premier League will be a great challenge and one that I’m really looking forward to.”
West Brom beat Preston 3-0 to secure their playoff place and will face Southampton.
There was also drama at the bottom of the table as Birmingham were relegated in their first season with NFL legend Tom Brady as a minority owner of the club.
A 1-0 win over Norwich was not enough to save the Blues.
Blackburn spoiled Leicester’s title party with a 2-0 win at the King Power to survive and deny the Foxes amassing 100 points.
Plymouth ended Hull’s playoff hopes with a 1-0 win to hold off Birmingham by a point.
