Ipswich get the rub of the green

Ipswich Town 2 Norwich City 1

Ipswich Town 2 Norwich City 1

The local argument between East Anglia's warring neighbours often carries a tale of the unexpected and yesterday at Portman Road it excelled itself as Ipswich took a grateful stride nearer the Premier League.

There was a Norwich equaliser from a man with green hair and something even more biz-arre as Bryan Gunn went to deal with Robert Ullathorn's back- pass with four minutes to go.

It appeared to be a routine manoeuvre until the ball struck a divot and careered up and away from the goalkeeper's attempted kick, eventually trundling over the line as Gunn looked on in despair and the home fans cavorted with joy.

The victory restored Ipswich to the play-off places, though they will be the first to agree that luck smiled on them in this 60th derby. Next up is a sequence of three successive away games so there is still much for them to do.

Ipswich seemed to be heading the right way in the 23rd minute when Ian Marshall fired them ahead with his 18th goal of the season. It followed a Norwich free-kick, Richard Wright plunging to his left to keep out Ian Crook's attempt before launching the ball downfield with immediate results.

So much of the first half was as unsightly as the head of Jamie Cureton who decided to go green for the occasion. Many of his team-mates also revealed shaven crowns as if to illustrate their togetherness and intent.

Too often the intent, on both sides, was misguided and the referee, Jim Rushton, busied himself with seven cautions before the first 45 minutes was out. There were free-kicks galore and from one, in the 27th minute Crook rattled the crossbar.

After the interval Norwich began to assert and, within 60 seconds of coming on, Cureton, their substitute striker had put them back in the picture.

Darren Eadie hooked the ball across from the left and, taking advantage of John Wark's slip, Cureton steadied himself for an emphatic volley. "If he carries on scoring like that he can keep his hair green," said the Norwich manager Gary Megson.

Goals: Marshall (23) 1-0; Cureton (62) 1-1 62; Ullathorne og (86) 2-1.

Ipswich Town (4-4-2): Wright; Uhlenbeek, Wark (Vaughan, 83), Sedgley, Taricco; Stockwell (Appleby, 73), Mason, Williams, Milton; Marshall, Scowcroft. Substitute not used: Gregory.

Norwich City (4-4-2): Gunn; Bradshaw, Polston (Prior, 19), Newman, Ullathorn; Adams, Milligan (Johnson, 87), Crook, Eadie; Fleck, Akinbiyi (Cureton, 61).

Referee: J Rushton (Stoke).

Bookings: Ipswich: Uhlenbeek, Wright, Milton. Norwich: Ullathorn, Newman, Fleck, Bradshaw.

Man of the match: Crook. Attendance: 20,355.