Newcastle 3-0 Ipswich: Tractor Boys' fate sealed after Johnson's costly dismissal
- Published
The writing has been on the wall for quite some time for Ipswich Town.
Manager Kieran McKenna admitted relegation was likely after watching his team lose 2-1 at home to Wolves earlier in April, a defeat which left them 12 points adrift of safety with seven matches remaining.
Saturday's reverse at St James' Park sealed the Tractor Boys' fate with four games left, but the visitors matched Newcastle for long spells of the first half and restricted the Magpies to very few clear-cut openings.
However, Ben Johnson's 37th-minute red card - just seven minutes after he was booked for diving under Dan Burn's challenge - swung what had been an uneventful contest in Newcastle's favour.
The wideman is the fifth Ipswich player to be given his marching orders this season - only Arsenal have been shown more red cards in the 2024-25 season.
Alexander Isak's penalty in first-half stoppage time broke the visitors' crumbling resistance before efforts from Burn and Will Osula clinched a comfortable win for the Magpies.
This is the first time in Premier League history that all relegations have been confirmed with as many as four games remaining.
