When Ipswich Town fans milled out of Portman Road after a late September draw against Aston Villa – their fourth on the trot – you could have forgiven them for expecting that elusive first home Premier League win was not too far off.
Yet, almost three months later and those in Suffolk are still waiting to celebrate following a heartbreaking last-gasp defeat by Bournemouth that saw them concede twice in the final few minutes to turn what looked set to be a memorable day into a disastrous one for Kieran McKenna’s side.
In a chaotic game that was only enhanced by the sideways rain and strong winds of Storm Darragh, Conor Chaplin’s goal – which saw the attacking midfielder join the elusive club of scoring in the top four divisions of English football – looked to be enough to reel Ipswich right back in in the battle for survival before Enes Unal and Dango Outarra struck right at the death.
The victory was a triumph for Andoni Iraola’s game management with both scorers introduced as second half substitutes when they were chasing the game – and the victory alights his side’s push for European football.
But for Mckenna, whose team were given a rapturous applause at the final whistle, the result couldn’t have been crueller as they now look in danger of being cut adrift in the battle for survival.
Ipswich came into the game after a bruising week that saw them suffer back-to-back defeats by Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace – after which McKenna insisted his side must do better.
They have competed in pretty much every game this season and put in plenty of promising displays, but the final quality in both boxes had left them short of victories.
But this clash almost started in the worst possible fashion when Marcus Tavernier somehow sliced wide from a yard out in a miss of the season contender.
The hosts soon found their feet, roared on by a vociferous Portman Road crowd, with Kepa Arrizabalaga forced into some smart saves in conditions alien from his loan spell at Real Madrid last season.
In truth, the Tractor Boys’ set pieces were causing chaos and when a Leif Davis long throw fell to Cameron Burgess, the defender showed immense composure to cut the ball back for Chaplin to sweep home.
Chaplin’s rise epitomises Ipswich’s over recent years and the 27-year-old was at the heart of all his side’s best moves here.
Burgess thought he had added a second when he nodded home from a corner, but referee Michael Salisbury penalised Liam Delap for a foul on Kepa, much to the home crowd’s bemusement.
Ipswich almost shot themselves in the foot as Sam Morsy gave the ball away in a dangerous area but Evanlinson’s effort struck the post as the Cherries continued to pose a significant danger.
The helter-skelter nature of a first half that saw 18 shots alone saw Iraloa, usually so calm, receiving a booking for his protests at his side not being awarded a penalty when Kluivert went down under a challenge from Dara O’Shea.
Iraola, who bemoaned the extra two days rest Ipswich had going into the clash, has seen his side rightfully gain plaudits for their fast and direct attacking play and some desperate last ditch defending was required to keep them at bay.
Kluivert and Unal were guilty of spurning golden chances, while Arijanet Muric had to also be on top form, and it looked as if they were going to be heading home with a defeat.
Yet, when Dango Outtara beat Muric to a through ball after the keeper rashly came out, Unal was there to nod home to break Ipswich hearts.
But things were to get worse for the hosts as Outrara scored with just seconds to go as he pounced after Muric saved from Brooks to knock a real hammer blow into Ipswich’s hopes of survival.
