A goalkeeper’s gift and a second-half jolt
Christian Walton tried to dribble around Evanilson inside his own box on five minutes at Portman Road. It did not end well for Ipswich. The Bournemouth striker took the ball, scored, and found the net in a fifth consecutive Premier League game.
Ipswich barely had time to regroup at half-time. Just 27 seconds after the restart, Abdoul Ouattara gave the ball away to Evanilson, the move reached Christie, and his rising shot deflected off Issa Diop and then off the chest of left-back Leif Davis on its way in. Ipswich were two down before anyone had settled back into their seat.
Jack Clarke pulled one back from the penalty spot on 73 minutes, and the home crowd got a nervy finish. Bournemouth had to survive nine minutes of added time, with Julio Enciso threatening from distance, but held on for a 2-1 win.
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The numbers behind the run
That is eight wins in a row in all competitions for Marco Rose’s side, and the fourth in the league. They have played nine times in the past month, which makes the streak more striking. Alex Scott returned to the bench, a bonus for Rose, and Bournemouth head into the international break in seventh, three points off the top four.
Ipswich’s problem was a lack of ideas rather than a lack of effort. Gary O’Neil’s team produced just 0.30 expected goals from open play, and they did not register a touch in the Bournemouth box after the interval until Clarke’s penalty.
Enciso is carrying too much
The promoted side leans heavily on Enciso for creativity. Bournemouth shut off the supply line to the Paraguayan, and with it much of Ipswich’s threat. Rivals will have taken notes, and O’Neil will need a second option before the next run of fixtures.
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