Report: Onuachu's late strike fires Saints to victory at Ipswich

Saints had looked on course for a point after Joe Aribo's first-half opener had been cancelled out ten minutes later by Liam Delap, but, after withstanding a fair amount of pressure from the hosts, they stunned the home crowd in the 87th minute when Onuachu slid in to convert the rebound after a Kamaldeen shot had been saved.

The result brought joyous celebrations from the huge numbers of travelling fans and ended a run of six consecutive Premier League defeats for Ivan Jurić's side, who took their points tally for the season to nine, moving them seven points behind their 19th-placed opponents and eight points from 17th position.

The Saints boss handed debuts at Portman Road to the club’s two January arrivals, as Welington started at left back and Albert Grønbæk played in an advanced position on the left.

Latest arrival Albert Grønbæk was one of two players handed their debut (Photo: Matt Watson)

They replaced Ryan Manning, who missed out altogether, and Adam Armstrong, who was named on the bench, with the only other change seeing Aaron Ramsdale return in goal at the expense of Alex McCarthy after recovering from injury.

Ramsdale was in action after nine minutes, making a routine save from Julio Enciso’s shot from 25 yards, as Ipswich applied a bit of early pressure.

It was pretty comfortable for Saints, though, who were solid defensively and earned themselves a good foothold in the game, albeit without offering any significant threat themselves.

However, that all changed shortly after the 20-minute mark when they took the lead with their first attempt of the match.

After winning the ball from a Ramsdale goal kick, Saints worked it out to Mateus Fernandes on the right, with his delivery taking a deflection and looping into the path of Aribo, who was making a late run into the box. Aribo struck it with his left foot as it dropped and sent it bouncing past Arijanet Muric in the Ipswich goal, to the delight of the hordes of travelling Saints fans at the other end of the stadium.

Joe Aribo celebrates the opening goal of the game (Photo: Matt Watson)

Ipswich attempted to mount a swift response, as Omari Hutchinson’s cross from the right was nodded down by Nathan Broadhead, but Delap could only flick it over with his first-time effort, sticking out his right foot to meet the ball.

It was only a temporary reprieve, though, as the Ipswich striker did then find the back of the net on 31 minutes.

There didn’t look to be much danger for Saints as the ball bounced around in midfield, but Broadhead’s quick pass forward sent Delap sprinting clear through the middle, hurdling Jan Bednarek’s last-ditch sliding tackle attempt before bearing down on goal and sending a low shot past Ramsdale to equalise.

Ramsdale prevented it becoming 2-1 almost immediately, as Broadhead himself was played through on the left side of the area, but the Saints keeper made an excellent one-on-one stop to keep the scores level.

Ipswich threatened again shortly before half time, as Enciso bent a low free-kick around the wall and into the side netting after Welington had been booked for a foul on Axel Tuanzebe just outside the box.

Hutchinson then had a decent opportunity on the break in the final minute of the half, but Ramsdale got behind his well-struck effort after he had cut onto his left foot in the box.

Saints made one change at the break, as Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who was limping towards the end of the half after picking up a knock, was replaced by Jack Stephens, with the captain returning to action after almost two months on the sidelines.

Cruelly, however, his comeback was short-lived, as he went down injured only eight minutes into the half and had to be replaced, with Will Smallbone coming on for him, while Aribo was deployed as a makeshift centre back.

Jack Stephens reacts after being forced off with injury (Photo: Matt Watson)

The first real chance of the second half came on 58 minutes, as a long throw from Ipswich ended up being diverted towards Enciso just inside the area, but his left-footed effort flew inches wide of the top corner.

At the other end, Jan Bednarek saw a near-post header from a corner well blocked, as Saints showcased a threat of their own.

Jurić then made another substitution, as Grønbæk was withdrawn in the 70th minute and Kamaldeen was sent on in his place.

Shortly after that switch, Ramsdale saved at his near post from a low Delap shot, while Enciso wasted a good chance with a weak strike after getting into a nice bit of space on the edge of the area.

Saints made another two changes as the game went into the final ten minutes, with Yuki Sugawara and Adam Lallana coming on for Welington and Lesley Ugochukwu.

It looked like it may be a case of whether Saints could hold on for a point or not, but they stunned Portman Road with only three minutes left on the clock as Onuachu struck to put them ahead.

The goal came via a break down the left, with Kamaldeen cutting into the box and fizzing a low, right-footed shot towards the near bottom corner. Muric got down to make a good save, but he could only divert the ball to the edge of the six-yard box, with Onuachu reacting fastest to finish with his left foot.

Paul Onuachu celebrates scoring in the closing stages at Portman Road (Photo: Matt Watson)

It was a sweet moment for Saints, in front of their delighted travelling fans, with Onuachu sprinting towards them to revel in the celebrations.

There was still work to be done, though, with eight minutes of added time indicated at the end of the game, but the visitors dealt with it brilliantly and navigated their way smoothly to the final whistle, with great scenes between the players and supporters after the match as they celebrated together.

Ipswich Town: Muric, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis (J Clarke 88), Morsy (c), Cajuste (Taylor 77), Hutchinson, Enciso (Hirst 89), Broadhead (Philogene 62), Delap.

Unused substitutes: Slicker, Johnson, Godfrey, Townsend, Phillips.

Goals: Delap (31’).

Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Bree, Bednarek (c), Harwood-Bellis (Stephens 46) (Smallbone 56), Welington (Sugawara 81), Ugochukwu (Lallana 81), Aribo, Fernandes, Grønbæk (Kamaldeen 70), Onuachu.

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Bella-Kotchap, Dibling, Armstrong.

Goals: Aribo (21’), Onuachu (87').

Booked: Welington, Bednarek, Sugawara.

Referee: Michael Oliver.