Newcastle United 3 v 0 Ipswich Town
by Roger Domeneghetti

NEWCASTLE kept their hopes of Champions League qualification, condemning 10-man Ipswich to relegation in the process, but they made heavy weather of it.

The equation for the visitors was simple: anything less than a win would see them relegated and they were clearly determined to cling on to their Premier League status by their fingernails.

For much of the first half, they matched their out-of-sorts hosts in what was a scrappy game. The hosts had the ball in the net after 22 minutes, a wicked looped ball and a challenge from Bruno Guimaraes causing problems for Blues keeper Alex Palmer who could only watch on helpless from the floor as the ball spun in. Referee Michael Salisbury immediately disallowed it, adjudging the Newcastle skipper to have committed a foul.

It wouldn’t be long before Salisbury was in the bad books of both teams. In the space of six minutes, he booked Ipswich’s Ben Johnson twice. If the second, for holding Alexander Isak, was justified, the first for supposedly diving under a challenge from Dan Burn, seemed harsh.

Newcastle wasted little time in pressing home their numerical advantage. Guimaraes’s overhead kick was headed off the line by Luke Woolfenden, before Sandro Tonali rifled a shot against the angle of post and bar.

Ipswich were hanging on for half time and the chance to regroup, when Julio Enciso pulled back Jacob Murphy as the winger surged into the box.

Salisbury waved away Newcastle’s appeals before VAR James Bell sent him to the monitor. We all know what that means, as they say. Alexander Isak made no mistake from the spot.

With blood in the water, Newcastle went for the kill. Eleven minutes after the break, Burn rose above Dara O’Shea at the far post to head home Kieran Trippier’s cross for his first goal since Newcastle left Wembley as League Cup winners.

Trippier was again the provider for Newcastle’s third 10 minutes from time, William Osula leaping to meet his corner, for his first Premier League goal.

By then the game had a distinctly pedestrian feel. It had become a low-key affair, part friendly, part-training game. Despite their relegation, Ipswich fans were in good voice: “Norwich City, we’re coming for you,” they sang. “Say hello to Sunderland,” replied their Newcastle counterparts. Then both sets joined forces for “There’s only one Bobby Robson,” a tribute to the Geordie legend who had managed them both.