Ipswich held by Southampton as automatic promotion race goes to final day

LONDON: The battle for automatic promotion to the Premier League will be decided on the final day of the Championship season after second-placed Ipswich Town were held to a 2-2 draw by Southampton on Tuesday.

The result ended Southampton’s own hopes of securing an automatic return to the top flight. The Saints, however, have already confirmed their place in the play-offs, which will involve the teams finishing from third to sixth to determine the final side promoted to the Premier League.

Ipswich took the lead early in the second half after a quiet opening period. Wes Burns put the visitors ahead in the 48th minute, driving a shot to Daniel Peretz’s left and into the top corner, with the ball taking a slight touch off the goalkeeper’s fingers on its way in.

Southampton responded 10 minutes later when Ryan Manning levelled the match with a powerful free-kick from the edge of the penalty area. The home side then moved in front with 10 minutes of normal time remaining as Cyle Larin scored to give the St Mary’s crowd more to cheer.

But Ipswich struck back late on. In the 87th minute, after a corner, substitute Jack Clarke hit a left-footed effort from the edge of the area beyond Peretz and into the bottom-left corner to make it 2-2.

Clarke nearly won it for Ipswich two minutes later. His shot hit the base of the post, bounced past Peretz and then rolled wide for a corner. In the third minute of five added on, Ipswich found the net again, but the goal was correctly disallowed for offside. Peretz then denied Clarke with an excellent save.

Had Ipswich won, they would have moved three points clear of Millwall and been all but certain of promotion because of their much better goal difference. Instead, the draw leaves them needing a home win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday to make sure of second place.

Ipswich are now one point ahead of Millwall and two clear of fourth-placed Middlesbrough. Both clubs remain in contention to finish runners-up to Coventry, who have already secured the Championship title. Millwall will host already-relegated Oxford, while Middlesbrough are away to Wrexham, who require a positive result to seal a play-off spot.

Southampton manager Tonda Eckert said the game had showcased the division at its best.

"I would have enjoyed the game if we got the three points but if you want to make an advertisement for the Championship I think that was the game to watch", said Saints boss Eckert.

The draw also extended Southampton’s unbeaten league run under Eckert to 18 matches, even though it was not enough to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive.

Final-day stakes

Only the top two teams at the end of the regular season are guaranteed promotion to the Premier League. With Coventry already confirmed as champions, the remaining automatic promotion place will now be settled in the final round of fixtures.

For Ipswich, the equation is straightforward: beat QPR at home and second place is secured. Southampton, meanwhile, must now turn their attention to the play-offs after seeing their bid for a guaranteed return to the Premier League come to an end.