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Fans' joy as Ipswich secure first win of season

A woman wearing glasses with shoulder length dark brown hair with a side parting.  She is wearing the pink Ipswich Town away shirt covered by an open long sleeved jacket with a black body and grey arms.  The jacket has a large Ipswich Town logo on it.  She has her arms aloft in a show of victory.  In the background is the exterior of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Town fan Linda Byford, said the victory was "absolutely fantastic" [STUART HOWELLS/BBC]

It is fair to say many Ipswich Town fans were falling out of love with life in the Premier League before Sunday's game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Ten games without a win, VAR controversies and losing points from winning positions had all contributed to a downbeat feeling, but that has all changed now.

Goals from Sam Szmodics and Liam Delap ensured the Tractor Boys came away from north London with a 2-1 win and their first three-point haul.

Supporter Linda Byford said: "The luck went our way today and it's about time."

A father and daughter are in the centre of the picture.  The dad has short brown hair with a greying, neat beard and moustache.  He's wearing the maroon Ipswich Town 2024 shirt with the Ed Sheeran sponsor slogan - he's leaning into his daughter with his right arm around her while his left hand is clenched in a fist. The daughter is wearing the pink third kit Ipswich Town shirt with the Ed Sheeran sponsorship. She has a grey long sleeve top underneath and a blue and white Ipswich Town bobble hat pulled down to her eyebrows.  She has her left arm around her dad's waist while her right arm is raised in victory.  In the background is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mark and Ellie had made the journey from Suffolk to see the Tractor Boys win [STUART HOWELLS/BBC]

Mark and his 10-year-old daughter Ellie were among the 3,000 Town supporters who made their voices heard as the Blues held on for victory.

"Absolutely immense atmosphere in that away end. What a first half performance and then we managed to hang on in the second half," he said.

Ellie added that the crowd went "crazy" at full time.

"It was really good. We were singing a lot of songs and it was really loud."

Town's manager Kieran McKenna was doing his GCSEs the last time Ipswich Town won a Premier League game in 2002 at Middlesbrough (featuring Gareth Southgate on the pitch), and striker Liam Delap was not even born.

"I was there 22 years ago but [Ellie] certainly weren't. That feels like a long, long time ago, but certainly worth the wait," Mark said.

A woman is wearing glasses and her hair is hidden by an Ipswich Town woolly hat.  It's blue and white with an ITFC badge in the centre. She is wearing a bright orange coat with an ITFC scarf.  In the background there are more supporters and the outside of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Alison was left feeling emotional following the win [STUART HOWELLS/BBC]

Town fan Alison admitted she "shed a few tears" over the win and was full of praise for a team that has enjoyed back-to-back promotions.

"These lads have given us so much over the last two years and they're going to keep on doing it."

A dad and son are centre. The boy is around 10 and had short blonde hair.  He's wearing glasses and is holding up a pink ITFC third kit shirt.  His dad has dark brown hair and a beard and moustache.  He's wearing a black hooded jacket. In the background other Town fans are mingling outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It was a memorable match for Jenson and his dad [STUART HOWELLS/BBC]

Other younger supporters were also emotional, but more excited than tearful.

"I'm never going to forget that win. It was amazing," said Jenson.

Another young fan, Jacob, was even more positive: "We're staying up now."

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