Sixteen years of hurt have finally come to an end for Ipswich Town. A curse that had lingered for longer than that on most abandoned burial grounds was banished in conclusive fashion as their East Anglian rivals were defeated 3-1 and generally outclassed in the home side’s first win in 15 derbies.
Goals from the man of the match, Cédric Kipré, the mercurial Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke were the decisive moments of the match, Norwich’s kamikaze attacking another factor. But the figure of Marcelino Núñez, who scored against Ipswich for Norwich in the last derby two seasons ago and then completed a £10m move to Suffolk in the summer, loomed throughout. Featuring on the cover of the programme and in the voices of the Ipswich support, even as he started the match on the bench, this was a transfer troll that ultimately achieved the desired effect.
Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna was keen to play down the Núñez factor, even after the Chilean had taken his own victory lap around Portman Road at the final whistle and stroked the Ipswich crest on a corner flag. “His motivation to come here was nothing about his feelings about Norwich,” McKenna insisted, though he was on more convincing ground when he spoke of a “deserved” win for his team that can be a “big moment for us going forward”.
After a peppy atmosphere in and around the ground, the opening half hour was as scrappy as chip paper. But Ipswich took the lead with a well-worked set piece. The delivery came from Philogene – a deep outswinger that found Dara O’Shea at the back post. He nodded the ball down to the penalty spot and, after something of a scramble, it came to Kipré who took a touch and crashed the ball into the net.
This was what a fractious home crowd had been after and Ipswich looked well-placed to kick on, but Norwich scrapped their way back into the match. Again it came from a set piece – Kellen Fisher’s corner was aimed at Harry Darling at the back post, but cleared out to the Danish teenager Oscar Schwartau who hit a low shot straight back at goal and, via a minor deflection, past a stranded Alex Palmer.
Norwich were euphoric and Ipswich’s support more volatile. This was a story they had seen many times. But one consistent during a scratchy opening to the season has been the goalscoring form of Philogene, and he was about to strike again.
With the clock having just ticked to 45 minutes and Norwich playing triangles in the middle of the pitch, the midfielder Pelle Mattsson inexplicably let the ball pass between his legs and through to a lurking Philogene. He wasted no time in advancing on goal and unleashing a rising drive from 25 yards that clipped the top of Vladan Kovacevic’s fingers but burst into the top corner of the net. His celebration – a na-na-na-na-na with his fingers in his ears – may require some work. At half-time the Ipswich legend Jim Magilton came on to the pitch to urge the fans to stick the course and pledged that Norwich’s high defensive line would offer more opportunities.
He was very much proved right. After the restart Ipswich were increasingly able to exploit the space offered up by Norwich’s advanced full-backs. George Hirst alone should have scored twice from the opportunities served up.
With 15 minutes to go, and the game still keenly poised, Núñez had his moment. Emerging on to the field to a round of raucous chanting (set to the tune of Zombie by the Cranberries, aka ‘Rory McIlroy’s in your head’), three minutes later he had made the decisive contribution the narrative had forewarned.
Finding the ball after Darling had been robbed of possession, Núñez instantly read the situation and spun a pass behind that high line into fellow substitute Iván Azón. The Spaniard shot sharply past Kovacevic, but on to the post, where Clarke was on hand to turn the rebound home.
The last 15 minutes were a battering for the visitors, with Núñez’s post-match gallivanting only rubbing it in. A sullen Liam Manning, with only eight points in his first nine games as Norwich manager, described the result as “hugely disappointing”.
Calling on his players to “step up”, he said: “We’ve got to take responsibility. We’ve got to be a lot tougher on ourselves.”
• This article was amended on 5 October 2025. Liam Manning is the manager of Norwich City, not Ryan Manning as an earlier version said.
