Two titanic promotion tussles and a big step towards a major cup semi-final . . . Sunderland had their moments against Ipswich Town long before their recent meetings in League One.
With Portman Road the next stop for Lee Johnson and his men on Saturday, we take a look at three classic previous Black Cats’ trips to Suffolk.
Sunderland may only have managed six wins from 27 trips there, but these three games should provide inspiration for a fifth victory in six matches against the Tractor Boys in the third tier.
1. Ipswich Town 2-2 Sunderland, Championship – April 17, 2005
With just four games left in the season – and both clubs pushing for automatic promotion to the Premier League - this game was as crucial as it got.
And it roared into life late on.
For Ipswich, it was a must-win. For Mick McCarthy’s Championship leaders Sunderland – five points ahead of them – a point would be far from a disaster.
Marcus Stewart – on his former Portland Road stamping ground - missed a penalty against former Sunderland man Kelvin Davis in the first half, and neither side could find a breakthrough until late in the second period.
Ipswich’s Richard Naylor broke the deadlock in the 66 th minute, before Brian Deane set up fellow substitute Stephen Elliott to head home an equaliser five minutes later.
Carl Robinson then volleyed the Black Cats ahead, only for a striker by the name of Darren Bent to rescue a point in the dying embers for Ipswich, and keep it as you were at the top of the table.
Sunderland only had to wait a week to confirm automatic promotion by beating Leicester City.
2. Ipswich 1-2 Sunderland, FA Cup fourth round – January 24, 2004
Tommy Smith opened the scoring for Sunderland in the 45 th minute, latching onto a cross from Darren Williams.
A Kelvin Davis blunder (yes, really!) from a Jason McAteer free-kick allowed Julio Arca to double the Black Cats’ advantage.
Despite a potent threat from Ipswich – who had future Newcastle striker Shefqi Kuqi up front – and a goal from substitute Martijn Reuser, Mick McCarthy’s side secured victory.
The FA Cup run would extend to the semi-finals before defeat by Millwall at Old Trafford.
3. Ipswich 0-2 Sunderland – First Division, August 29, 1998
Sunderland had started the then First Division season in style, claiming 10 points from their first four games ahead of this visit to Suffolk.
And that superb start continued at Portman Road, with Paul Mullin sliding the Black Cats ahead early on from Mickey Gray’s cross.
Then Kevin Phillips – the league’s eventual top goalscorer with 23 goals – rounded Richard Wright to double the lead before half-time.
That was enough Peter Reid’s men to go a point clear of Wolves at the top of the table amid a run of 18 opening league games without defeat.
Sunderland maintained that momentum to go up as champions with 105 points, while enjoying a League Cup run only ended by Leicester City over a two-legged semi-final.
