Norwich City emerged victorious in a tense East Anglian derby against Ipswich Town, securing a 1-0 win at Carrow Road.
Marcelino Nunez’s first-half free-kick proved to be the decisive moment in a closely contested encounter. Despite both sides boasting potent attacks, clear chances were scarce throughout the match.
The game saw Ipswich fail to score for the first time in 15 Championship matches, dealing a blow to their automatic promotion hopes. Meanwhile, Norwich’s victory marked their eighth consecutive home win, consolidating their position in sixth place and boosting their playoff aspirations.
Norwich started the match with purpose, but it wasn’t until the half-hour mark that the game saw its first major incident, with Josh Sargent going down under a challenge from Ipswich’s Axel Tuanzebe. Despite calls for a red card from the home fans, Tuanzebe was booked, and Nunez came close with the resulting free-kick.
However, Nunez found the breakthrough for Norwich with a superb strike from 25 yards, leaving Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky disappointed.
Although Ipswich attempted to muster a response in the second half, their efforts were largely thwarted by Norwich’s resilient defense. Norwich themselves threatened on the counter-attack, with Sargent causing problems for the Ipswich backline.
Ultimately, Ipswich’s attacking efforts fell short, with their best chance coming from Kieffer Moore’s header, which was comfortably saved by Angus Gunn.
Ipswich’s disappointment was compounded as Conor Chaplin’s late effort failed to trouble the Norwich goal, sealing Norwich’s victory in the derby.