Ipswich Town Women Find Their Survival Instinct Just When It Matters Most
From rock bottom to breathing room - the Tractor Girls put four past Sheffield United to give themselves a fighting chance of staying up with just two games left.
There's nothing quite like the prospect of relegation to concentrate the mind, and Ipswich Town Women have finally discovered theirs just when it looked like they'd completely lost it. Their emphatic 4-1 demolition of Sheffield United wasn't just three points - it was a statement that they're not going down without the mother of all fights.
When Joe Sheehan departed in January with the Tractor Girls firmly wedged at the bottom of the table, sporting just five points from what can generously be described as a dismal run of one win in eleven games, even the most optimistic Suffolk soul would have been forgiven for eyeing up the fixture list for next season's third-tier campaign.
Step forward interim boss David Wright, who appears to have worked something approaching a minor miracle. The transformation hasn't been immediate - these things rarely are - but Sunday's four-goal salvo suggests the message has finally got through. Kenzie Weir opened the floodgates before Sophie Peskett helped herself to a brace, with Maria Boswell adding the cherry on top of what must have felt like the sweetest of cakes for the travelling faithful.
The victory hoists Ipswich up to 10th place, and more crucially, opens up a precious three-point cushion over bottom-placed Portsmouth. For a side that looked destined for an immediate return to the third tier just months ago, it's the kind of breathing space that feels positively luxurious.
The mathematics are deliciously simple now. With just two fixtures remaining, Ipswich need only a single point from their clash with Birmingham City if Portsmouth slip up in their own final games. Even if the south coast side manage to find some late-season heroics, the Tractor Girls have at least given themselves options - something that seemed utterly impossible when winter's gloom was at its deepest.
For a club that celebrated promotion from the third tier just last season, the prospect of an immediate return would have been nothing short of heartbreaking. The step up in class is always brutal, and Ipswich have learned that lesson the hard way over the course of a campaign that's tested every ounce of their resolve.
But football has a funny way of rewarding those who refuse to surrender, and Sunday's performance suggested a team that's finally remembered how to play without fear. Whether it's enough to secure their second-tier status remains to be seen, but they've at least ensured the final chapters of this relegation thriller will be worth watching.