Ipswich Town were relegated from the Premier League on Saturday following a 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United, with the visitors reduced to 10 men after Ben Johnson was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in the first half.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich have 21 points, 15 behind West Ham United with four games left, and join already-relegated Leicester City and bottom side Southampton in returning to the Championship after one season in the top flight.
Newcastle’s win moved them up to third place on 62, five behind second-placed Arsenal and one ahead of Manchester City in fourth in the race for Champions League football next season.
Needing a win to have any mathematical chance of staying up, the scale of the task facing Ipswich was quickly apparent as Newcastle attacked in waves and had a goal disallowed in the 22nd minute when Bruno Guimaraes obstructed keeper Alex Palmer.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Johnson was booked for diving in the 30th minute and sent off seven minutes later as he picked up his second yellow card for pulling back Alexander Isak.
As the break approached, Sandro Tonali fired a shot off the woodwork before Newcastle finally took the lead in first-half stoppage time, Isak scoring from the spot after Julio Enciso was penalised for pulling down Jacob Murphy.
With Newcastle raining crosses and set-pieces into the box, Dan Burn netted the second with a header 11 minutes after the break, climbing highest to steer the ball home from close range.
By now, the 10-man Tractor Boys were hanging on grimly but there was no respite as Newcastle brought Anthony Gordon, Callum Wilson, and William Osula off the bench.
Osula netted a towering header from a corner two minutes after coming on to consign Ipswich to the drop.
Town defender Luke Woolfenden said a lack of concentration was partially to blame for his side’s relegation after they had jumped from League One to the Premier League in two seasons.
“Obviously disappointed but within the group and support, there is a sense of pride over where we have come from,” he said. “We’ve not been at it this season – I think, brain-wise, we have probably let ourselves down one too many times.”
“Disappointed and gutted the dream is over … we went over to the away end at the end and it’s full, they’ve been brilliant. We want to come back here and give a better account of ourselves in 14 months and go toe to toe with Newcastle.”
–Reuters
