Jack Clarke, 90th minute: the substitute who won it for Ipswich

Ipswich Town 2-1 Sunderland turned on a single late moment, and it belonged to a substitute. Jack Clarke, introduced with just under 20 minutes left, struck in the 90th minute to win a game Ipswich had spent much of the afternoon without the ball — 38% possession, but a telling 1.74 xG to 0.76.

Sunderland saw 62% of the ball and 549 passes, but Ipswich carried the sharper threat and eight shots inside the box. Emersonn had put them ahead on 24 from a Julio Enciso assist before Nilson Angulo levelled on 39. From there it was a question of who would find the decisive blow — and Ipswich’s bench provided it.

Clarke changed the game the moment he came on, adding directness and a willingness to attack the box that tired legs could not track. His 90th-minute winner, worked from a Sasa Lukic assist, was the reward for Ipswich staying patient and trusting their chance quality to tell. It is the kind of substitution that wins managers plenty of credit.

Ipswich will love that they backed their xG edge and got the result to match; Sunderland, with three yellow cards and plenty of the ball, will rue not turning control into a lead they could protect. But this one is Clarke’s — the difference between a point and three, delivered in the last minute.