In the last of our weekly lookbacks at Town’s greatest games, we remember the day the Blues proved they could hold their own in the Premier League.
Ipswich Town 1
Manchester United 1
Premier League, August 2000
On paper, this looks like an unremarkable result. But in reality it was a massive confidence boost for the Town team.
In only their second game back in the top flight, they came face to face with mighty Manchester United, who had won the Premier League by 18 points a few months earlier.
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The visitors’ team included Jaap Stam, a certain Roy Keane, both Neville brothers, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Dwight Yorke, and Ryan Giggs. Some line-up!
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But Town more than matched them, going ahead in the sixth minute thanks to a sweet finish from full-back Fabian Wilnis. Although Beckham levelled shortly before half-time from a free-kick, Ipswich had the better chances in the second half and Fabian Barthez had to make several good saves.
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The result, and the performance, against such illustrious opposition gave Ipswich the self-belief they needed and set the tone for an unexpectedly successful season, when they finished fifth in the Premier League and qualified for Europe.
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