Ipswich Town have won five of their six games since the start of last month, picking up 15 points from a possible 18 to take them top of the table. Alex Jones picks his award winners for March, including the 3-2 win against Southampton on April 1st.
Player of the Month
I had a long think about giving this one to Luke Woolfenden, who’s been excellent in the last few weeks, but it’s impossible to look past Leif Davis, who’s taken his game to a whole new level. I don’t think any of us thought that was even possible.
The left-back helped Town keep clean sheets against Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers, but his real standout performance came against Bristol City, where he set up Ali Al-Hamadi and Conor Chaplin before scoring a late winner to give his side all three points.
His assist away at Blackburn broke the record for a defender in a single Championship season, which is remarkable given that he was ill in the build-up to the game and found it hard to breathe before being brought off on 70 minutes. He returned to the starting lineup 72 hours later against Southampton, bagging a stunning goal and yet another assist to help seal a 3-2 win.
That takes his total for the season to two goals and 16 assists, which is simply remarkable. The last few weeks have shown exactly why he’s going right to the top.
Surprise package
Axel Tuanzebe found the early stages of his time at Portman Road to be pretty tough. He took a while to build up fitness and get into the team, and when he did, he looked pretty shaky despite showing glimpses of real quality.
With Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess forming a clear first-choice defensive partnership, Tuanzebe had to look at other areas of the pitch for starts. He’s been drafted in at right-back when Harry Clarke has been injured, impressing so much that he’s managed to keep his place in the lineup.
The 26-year-old has started in six of the last seven games, only missing the defeat at Cardiff City, where he was an unused substitute. Funnily enough, if he was brought on, he may have helped Ipswich see out the win.
There are clearly some areas that need some refining for him to be a top-level right-back, but he’s taken big strides towards reaching that point. The last few games have really shown that.
Goal of the Month
There are quite a few options here, but while recency bias may play a part, I have to pick Davis’ thunderbolt against Southampton.
There’s a lot to love about this goal, but it really stands out for its unpredictability. Sam Morsy’s pinpoint pass out to Davis seemed to catch the Saints by surprise, but they were left in total disbelief when the left-back took a touch and smashed a fierce effort past the near post and into the roof of the net.
"Ipswich Town are seven games from greatness!"
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 1, 2024
What a STRIKE from Leif Davis! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/FTJ8Rw6Y04
His first instinct, as Town’s key creator, must’ve been to deliver a cross, but he chose the right option here. It’s not just about the power he got behind the strike, but also the accuracy.
With plenty of different angles plastered on social media, it’s much easier to appreciate just how good this strike was. It’ll certainly get added to a long list of Ipswich’s best goals of the season.
Best individual performance
Davis may feel hard done by not to win this award for his outing against Bristol City, but I’ve got to give this to Omari Hutchinson for his performance against Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls arrived at Portman Road in excellent form, but they had no idea how to stop the versatile 20-year-old, who played down the middle in place of the injured Conor Chaplin.
He opened the scoring with a stunning low strike, twisting his body on the edge of the area before firing a shot into the bottom corner. Just after half time, he bagged his second and Ipswich’s third as he latched onto Nathan Broadhead’s pass before lashing a shot into the back of the net.
He could’ve easily had a hat-trick at that point, and while he never got his third, he did set up Al-Hamadi to score late on as he ran through three defenders before playing the ball over to the striker for a simple tap-in.
After a red-hot run of form in February, this performance really was the icing on the cake for the Chelsea loanee.
Standout moment
The easiest pick of the bunch. There’s not a lot to say about Jeremy Sarmiento’s stoppage-time winner against Southampton that hasn’t been said already.
The Blues found themselves behind in the 24th minute despite taking the lead, and they were somewhat fortunate to limp into the half-time break at 1-2. The Saints looked to be the fresher side, playing with more intensity and more quality.
That all changed after the restart. The fans at Portman Road created an immense atmosphere as Ipswich began to turn the screw. Nathan Broadhead’s equaliser in the 68th minute was just the start.
Sarmiento was introduced in the final stages of the match, but his moment came in the seventh minute of stoppage time as Davis delivered the ball to his feet. The Ecuador international scuffed his initial shot before flicking the ball into the bottom corner, sealing all three points against their promotion rivals.
The celebrations were wild. Chaplin was among those who pelted from the bench to the other end of the pitch to celebrate. Fans went ballistic, even Kieran McKenna had a moment of pure joy before composing himself. Town have scored quite a few late goals this season, but this one tops the lot.
Best opposition player
Although it’s worth mentioning Bristol City’s Anis Mehmeti, it’s hard to go against Southampton's Adam Armstrong, who notched his 20th league goal of the season in the game at Portman Road.
Ipswich have, of course, been linked with a move for the talented attacker in the past, and it’s not hard to see why. His goalscoring record at Blackburn Rovers was frightening, and although he found the jump to the Premier League to be a bit too much, it was clear he was always going to thrive back in the Championship with the Saints.
Playing off the right, he fired his side into the lead when he beat Davis and latched onto Stuart Armstrong’s sumptuous through ball. He only had a second to think before striking the ball, firing it low and hard into the net. It was a poacher’s finish.
The Blues did well to nullify him from then on, but he was always a threat, taking seven shots across the 90 minutes. He now has 31 goal contributions to his name in just 38 league games.
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