Ipswich 0-1 Norwich: James Maddison secures derby victory

It turns out Nelson Oliveira was right. Or half right, at least.

The Norwich striker caused quite a stir in these parts this week, with his claim that not only was he part of the ‘better team’, but that he was also employed by the ‘better club’.

The latter point quite understandably rankled given the relative histories of these two rivals, but on the matter of whose tractor was superior, the Old Farm derby came up in his favour.

Maddison raises a finger to his lips after silencing the Portman Road crowd on Sunday

Norwich fans celebrate wildly after watching Maddison score against their bitter rivals

Not that he was the man who cleaned up any of the mess – a groin injury left him on the bench. Instead it was down to James Maddison, a 20-year-old playmaker of immense promise who was once pursued by Liverpool and Tottenham.

His goal on 59 minutes was excellent, as was his wider performance in a win that lifted Norwich inside the top six. Given the grand ambitions of his club, it is encouraging that Norwich are now unbeaten in eight and building momentum after a sluggish start to the tenure of Daniel Farke.

On the not-so-trivial matter of local aggravations, the result also stretched to nine the number of games since Ipswich beat their neighbours, a run that goes back eight and a half years. It is a subject of some irritation to Mick McCarthy, who has done well with limited resources at Portman Road.

Jonas Knudsen tries a shot on the Norwich goal but he was unable to break the deadlock at 0-0

Yanic Wildschut brushes off the challenge of Jordan Spence as he breaks down the wing

There was a friendly moment before the match between Mick McCarthy and Daniel Farke

Timm Klose of Norwich City tries a shot at Bartosz Bialkowski’s goal in the East Anglian Derby

Ipswich Town striker Martyn Waghorn reacts after missing a chance in the goalless first half

His frustration here will have been the chances that got away. Indeed, they had no problem creating but repeatedly failed to finish what they started.

Inside two minutes, Martyn Waghorn got a shot off, albeit one easily saved, and a moment later Jonas Knudsen cracked a drive across goal and onto the post after Ivo Pinto coughed up possession on the edge of his area.

Waghorn, Joe Garner and David McGoldrick all went on to have moderate chances in the remainder of the half against a shaky defence, but not one of them hit the target. No saves needed. Zip.

And Norwich? For all their patterns in midfield, they did precious little cutting. Cameron Jerome sent a header a long way over, Marco Stiepermann curled a shot straight to Bartosz Bialkowski and Maddison whipped another wide from outside the box.

The second half was following suit, with McGoldrick diving onto a header and sending it wide, before Maddison turned the game around the hour. Stiepermann had played him in with a square ball just inside the area and the forward, just left of centre, took a touch before hitting the opposite corner. A lovely finish and a third goal in the past five Championship games to go with two assists – it might not be long before he draws top-flight interest again. 

Waghorn battles with Norwich rival Wildschut in the huge Championship clash in East Anglia

Maddison’s shot flies round Adam Webster and into the corner of the Ipswich goal

Cameron Jerome celebrates with Maddison as the youngster wheels away after scoring

One fan celebrates on his back as the Norwich fans cheer following their winning goal

Long-time Norwich majority shareholder Delia Smith watches on from the stands at the game

Norwich fans are walked to the stadium by police as they arrive for the notorious ‘Old Farm’ tie