Johnson double helps Spurs to 4-1 win at Ipswich
Tottenham Hotspur winger Brennan Johnson scored twice in the first half before goals from Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski wrapped up a 4-1 victory at relegation-threatened Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday.
Johnson’s double came after the hosts had twice threatened to open the scoring early on through Liam Delap, whose glancing header hit the post. Ipswich forward Omari Hutchinson got one back before halftime but Spurs were not to be denied.
The home side battled hard for an equaliser but never created any clear openings in the second half and Tottenham went further ahead with a deflected Spence shot after 77 minutes and a fine individual goal from Kulusevski in the 84th.
The win left Spurs in 12th spot with 33 points from 26 games, while Ipswich remained third from bottom on 17, five points adrift of the safety zone after fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers won 1-0 at high-flying Bournemouth.
Ipswich had enjoyed a blistering start with striker Delap coming close with a shot across goal that was just wide of the far post and then with a deft header that hit the woodwork after he outjumped the defence to meet a Kalvin Phillips free kick.
But after surviving the early pressure Spurs took the lead through Johnson in the 18th minute. The Welshman tapped the ball home after a fine cross from Son Heung-min, who outfoxed Ben Godfrey down the left and played a ball into the six-yard box.
Johnson got his second goal eight minutes later after a similar break from Son, although this time the South Korean cut back inside and delivered a precise pass across the area for Johnson to pick his spot past helpless goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
Ipswich responded when Hutchinson swept a left-foot shot into the far corner of Guglielmo Vicario’s net in the 36th after Spurs defender Kevin Danso lost possession and Phillips found Jack Clarke down the left to cut the ball back.
Ipswich battled hard for an equaliser after the break but never created any clear openings and Tottenham wrapped up the points with a deflected Spence shot after he was set up following some trickery by James Maddison inside the box.
Kulusevski then ran down the right before cutting inside and firing a low shot into the far corner to seal the win. The home fans were upset as they thought play should have stopped after Jacob Greaves clashed heads with Tottenham’s Dane Scarlett.
