Ipswich 1-4 Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou's side produce ruthless display to leave Tractor Boys five points from safety
Ipswich are now five points from safety after losing 4-1 at home to Tottenham, who made it three wins on the spin in the Premier League.
It could have been so different for Ipswich had they scored one of three big chances inside the first five minutes but Liam Delap's luck was out and Spurs grabbed the all-important opener through Brennan Johnson after a neat assist from Heung-Min Son.
The same duo were at it again on 26 minutes, ruthlessly punishing Town, whose defending was questionable as Johnson fired home from another Son cross.
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Omari Hutchinson curled in a beauty to give Ipswich hope before the break.
Half-time substitute Luke Woolfenden thought he had levelled after 61 minutes when he headed home Hutchinson's cross, but the defender had strayed offside.
Djed Spence restored the two-goal cushion for Ange Postecoglou's team and Dejan Kulusevski wrapped up the points with a classy finish despite Ipswich's Jacob Greaves being down with a head injury.
With Wolves winning at Bournemouth, Ipswich are now cut adrift at the bottom and it looks increasingly likely that the three promoted clubs will be heading straight back down.
For Spurs, with key players returning, things are looking a lot rosier.
Ange: Our play was super exciting
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou:
"We had to work hard today. We knew we'd have to work hard. Ipswich are one of the hardest-working teams in the league - they're fighting for every point. They started the game really well in the first five minutes with the energy in the stadium but I thought we did the hard things really well.
"A couple of times in the first half we kind of lost a bit of concentration and it's a disappointing goal we conceded.
"But aside from that, I thought we handled that side of the game really well, which you have to. I always felt we were a threat when we had the ball. I thought Sonny was unplayable in the first half and it was so good to get Brendan back in those areas where he's always a threat.
"Our goals were quality goals. I thought our front-third play was super exciting and clinical."
Spurs are 're-energised'
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
"The word 're-energised' was the buzzword from Postecoglou in post-match press conference.
"It summed up his side perfectly. It wasn't perfect - as Ipswich's early blitz on their goal identified - but there was so much more energy and verve to the attacks being constructed.
"Kulusevski yet again was at the heart of most of these bursts of attacking football, supported ably from Son, who gave Ipswich defender Ben Godfrey the runaround in one of his best performances for a long time.
"There was also the added bonus of having a ruthless goalscorer in the ranks with Brennan Johnson is fine form in front of goal. Like father like son really. David Johnson had been prolific at Portman Road across a four-year spell and his son Brennan followed in his footsteps with two quickfire goals in Suffolk.
"It's three on the spin now for Spurs. The belief is back."
Premier League is a cruel mistress
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
"Football can be cruel. Ipswich did so many things right.
"The gameplan was to press Spurs hard and fast with an eye of playing direct balls to Delap in dangerous areas. It should have led to them being 3-0 up in the first five minutes - not an exaggeration.
"Delap missed two great openings from the left before hitting the crossbar with a deft header. But it has been one of those seasons for Ipswich where they have been punished for their underperformance in both boxes.
"Spurs didn't need three chances to score - they needed only two and scored from both. That is the harsh reality of this level. Ipswich have picked up seven points at Portman Road this season - only Southampton have picked up fewer home points. There's so much to like about this Ipswich team but results are proving so hard for them to come by."
McKenna still believes Ipswich can stay up
Kieran McKenna when asked if he still believes Ipswich can stay up:
"No doubt.
"Wolves picked up a good result today against 10 men with an early red card with a VAR. These are really, really small margins in football. And they haven't went our way this year. I don't think anyone can say that we've had any sort of fortune or margins go our way too often.
"We know we've got a big challenge to stay in the division. We know we're going to have to pick up points at a greater rate in our last 12 games. I believe that we can pick our points up at a greater rate, for sure."
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