Dara O'Shea has played with a severe back injury in the last few weeksDara O'Shea has played with a severe back injury in the last few weeks (Image: Steve Waller)
Player of the Month
For the first time this season, Liam Delap isn’t taking this award. It’s a real 50/50 for me, and Omari Hutchinson may feel hard done by, but Dara O’Shea just edges it.
There are two parts to this. Firstly, it’s his performances. The centre-back has been immense, both in terms of his defending and his work on the ball. His pace has been vital up against fast attackers, which was particularly important against Tottenham and Manchester United, but his physicality has also been a big part of his game. He’ll throw himself into every duel and tackle.
On top of that, his passing range has really stood out. He can create attacks from nothing with a quick ball over the top. When Town sit in possession, everything runs through him.
What swings this one in his favour is the fact that he’s been playing with a fractured bone in his back for a number of weeks. Some players may take time out to rest and recover, but O’Shea featured for club and country without complaining. He must have played through a lot of pain to do so.
All of that deserves real recognition. He’s had an excellent month in difficult circumstances.
Jens Cajuste has impressed since coming into Town's midfield against TottenhamJens Cajuste has impressed since coming into Town's midfield (Image: Ross Halls)
Surprise package
When writing about Ipswich’s midfield options a couple of weeks ago, I said: “Jens Cajuste, we weren’t familiar with your game”. No, Jens, we really weren’t.
The Swedish international had done okay in the early stages of his time at Portman Road. Injuries hampered his momentum and McKenna preferred the partnership of Sam Morsy and Kalvin Phillips instead.
But the Manchester City loanee picked up a ban following his red card against Leicester City, which gave Cajuste an opportunity. He grabbed that with both hands, putting in an excellent display against Tottenham where he ran the show in midfield.
Against Man United, he put in a perfect, last-ditch tackle on Alejandro Garnacho to prevent a clear goal. He was also slick in the defeat to Forest, which was a hard game for everyone in a blue shirt.
Like O’Shea, he’s had to manage an injury while getting up to full speed. Now he’s one of the first names on the team sheet. He’s showing just how good he can be at the right time.
Omari Hutchinson's curler stunned Manchester UnitedOmari Hutchinson's curler stunned Manchester United (Image: Ross Halls)
Goal of the Month
Four goals in four games last month. Leif Davis’ brilliant volley against Leicester comes close, but it’s impossible to look past Hutchinson’s curler against Man United.
Let’s discuss the elephant in the room first. Was there a deflection? Yep. Noussair Mazraoui got his head on the strike, which helped to lift it up and over André Onana. There’s an argument that it still would have hit the back of the net regardless, but we’ll never know.
Still, this was a wonderful strike. The way it came from almost nowhere – a quick cut inside from Wes Burns, who played the ball through a couple of players before Hutchinson turned past Casemiro and took aim.
The magnitude of the game and the fact that Town fell behind within seconds only adds to this special strike. It got the Blues going again, and they were unfortunate not to win the match from there.
The Blues secured their first win of the season away at SpursThe Blues secured their first win of the season away at Tottenham (Image: PA)
Standout moment
Pretty easy one this. The full-time whistle away at Tottenham.
Following a tough run of games against lower-ranked teams in October, there were fears that Spurs would put Town to the sword in North London. Instead, an overhead kick from Sammie Szmodics and a close-range strike from Delap put the visitors 2-0 up.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s header from a corner set up Ange Postecoglou’s men to make a comeback, but Ipswich held them at arm’s length, managing a lot of pressure to claim their first Premier League win in over 22 years.
The roar from the away end at full time will live long in the memory. It wasn’t just about the three points, but also the opposition and the way they went about the game.
This was a special afternoon.
André Onana made two excellent saves to deny Liam DelapAndré Onana made two excellent saves to deny Liam Delap (Image: PA)
Best opposition player
Another simple pick. Man United goalkeeper Onana.
There was nothing he could have done about Hutchinson’s goal, but he did everything he possibly could to keep his side in the game at Portman Road. Without him, Ipswich could have won the game 3-1.
He commanded his area well, was quick to distribute the ball and made five saves. Two of them were astonishing stops to deny Liam Delap from point-bank range.
On a day where the Red Devils disappointed, their goalkeeper came up with a huge performance to spare their blushes at Portman Road.
Ed Sheeran apologised after interrupting Ruben Amorim's interview at Portman RoadEd Sheeran apologised after interrupting Ruben Amorim's interview at Portman Road (Image: PA)
‘Welcome to the Premier League’ moment
Sticking with the Man United game here, and to be honest, it’s hard to pick out one specific incident. The whole frenzy surrounding this game deserves one final mention.
It all started when Erik ten Hag was sacked and his replacement, Ruben Amorim, was brought in during the November international break, making the trip to Ipswich his first game in charge.
The media circus started there. Kieran McKenna’s pre-match press conference was packed, and he was grilled about his time at Old Trafford for well over half an hour. The match itself – shown live on Super Sunday – was also watched by some of the biggest names in the national press.
From there, we had Ed Sheeran crashing Amorim’s post-match interview and Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane having to be restrained during an argument with an Ipswich fan, having offered to meet him in the car park to settle their differences.
It was wild from start to finish, and I doubt we’ll have another match quite like that one at Portman Road any time soon.