Liverpool 5 Ipswich Town 0: IPSWICH Town were banished to Division One in the most emphatic fashion after being hammered 5-0 by Liverpool at Anfield. Ipswich's only hope of avoiding the drop to the Nationwide League was to win at Anfield and hope that Derby County could beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. But by 3:20pm any faint hope that Ipswich could avoid relegation had disappeared. By that time Town were already 1-0 down to Liverpool while Sunderland had taken the lead against Derby.

Liverpool 5 Ipswich Town 0

IPSWICH Town were banished to Division One in the most emphatic fashion after being hammered 5-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.

Ipswich's only hope of avoiding the drop to the Nationwide League was to win at Anfield and hope that Derby County could beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

But by 3:20pm any faint hope that Ipswich could avoid relegation had disappeared. By that time Town were already 1-0 down to Liverpool while Sunderland had taken the lead against Derby.

Derby did pull a goal back at Sunderland to earn a draw but for Ipswich things only got worse as Liverpool showed what the Premiership is all about by rattling up a 5-0 win.

Ipswich matched the mighty Reds in the opening stages but after John Arne Riise gave Liverpool the lead on 13 minutes Town's fate was sealed.

Poor defending cost Ipswich dearly and when Vladimir Smicer broke away for Liverpool and set-up Riise to crash home his second with just 34 minutes gone there were fears Liverpool may improve on the 6-0 hammering they dished out to the Blues at Portman Road.

Martijn Reuser did hit a Liverpool post with a curling shot but the pace and power of Micheal Owen and Emile Heskey was always too much for the Ipswich defence.

Just seconds after the interval Owen latched onto a mistake by Titus Bramble before beating Andy Marshall to make it 3-0.

The end of season party at Anfield now began as Liverpool confirmed their second placed finish in the Premiership ahead of arch rivals Manchester United.

Liverpool continued to dominate and after 55 minutes Smicer ghosted through a static Town defence to add a fourth.

Nicolas Anelka appeared as a late substitute but was not to be left off the scoresheet as he completed the rout receiving Owen's through ball and finishing past Marshall.

It was a tame end to Ipswich's spell in the Premiership but the difference in class between the sides was all too evident.

Perhaps Ipswich fans were spoilt by the successes of last season but the disappointments of this season have been magnified by an apparent lack of commitment from some of the Town players.

Ipswich must now look to the future and hope that the new crop of home-grown talent can provide the quality needed for a sustained stay in the Premiership.