Manchester United F.C. 9–0 Ipswich Town F.C.

Manchester United v Ipswich Town

Event	1994–95 FA Premier League
Manchester United Ipswich Town 9 0
Date	4 March 1995
Venue	Old Trafford, Manchester
Referee	Graham Poll (Berkshire)
Attendance	43,804

The 1994–95 season match between Manchester United and Ipswich Town at Old Trafford took place on 4 March 1995. The two teams went into the match at opposite ends of the table, although Ipswich had beaten United earlier in the season 3–2 at Portman Road.^[1] Manchester United won the match 9–0 –– a Premier League scoring record – with Andy Cole scoring five goals, another Premier League record.^[2]

Background

Manchester United were reigning Premiership champions,^[3] while Ipswich had narrowly avoided relegation to the First Division in the final minutes of the previous season, finishing one place above the relegation zone.^[4]

Manchester United went into the match three points behind league leaders Blackburn Rovers, and therefore needed a win to maintain the pressure on the Lancashire club going into the last two months of the season. Meanwhile, Ipswich Town were in 21st place in the league, three points ahead of bottom club Leicester City, but eight points away from escaping the relegation zone.^[5]

Prior to this match, the two teams had met 51 times in all competitions, with Manchester United having the upper hand with 25 wins to Ipswich's 18; the remaining eight matches finished as draws. It was a similar story in the league, with Manchester United winning 21 of the teams' 46 meetings, while Ipswich had 17 wins.^[6] The most recent game between the two sides, however, on 24 September 1994, finished in a 3–2 win for Ipswich at their home, Portman Road.

Match details

4 March 1995 15:00	Manchester United	9 – 0	Ipswich Town	Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance: 43,804 Referee: Graham Poll (Berkshire)
	Keane  15' Cole  19', 37', 53', 65', 87' Hughes  55', 59' Ince  72'	Report

Manchester United

Ipswich Town

Manchester United: GK 1 Peter Schmeichel RB 16 Roy Keane 46' CB 4 Steve Bruce (c) 79' CB 6 Gary Pallister LB 3 Denis Irwin RM 14 Andrei Kanchelskis CM 9 Brian McClair CM 8 Paul Ince LM 11 Ryan Giggs CF 17 Andy Cole CF 10 Mark Hughes Substitutes: GK 13 Gary Walsh MF 5 Lee Sharpe 46' MF 19 Nicky Butt 79' Manager: Alex Ferguson

Ipswich Town: GK 1 Craig Forrest 71' RB 19 Frank Yallop CB 5 John Wark CB 6 David Linighan 52' LB 3 Neil Thompson RM 18 Steve Palmer CM 7 Geraint Williams CM 14 Steve Sedgley LM 21 Stuart Slater CF 11 Lee Chapman 63' CF 33 Alex Mathie Substitutes: GK 23 Phil Morgan MF 4 Paul Mason FW 10 Ian Marshall 63' Manager: George Burley

Match officials Assistant referees: Unknown Unknown

Match rules 90 minutes No extra-time or penalties Three named substitutes Maximum of two substitutions

Reaction

This was Manchester United's best result in 103 years.^[7] It wiped out Blackburn's goal difference advantage at the top of the table as Rovers beat Aston Villa 1–0 at Villa Park on the same day, although Rovers' manager Kenny Dalglish shrugged off the result saying, "You only get three points whether you win 9–0 or 1–0".^{[citation needed]}

Manchester United went on to finish second in the league, just one point behind Blackburn, while Ipswich were relegated, finishing bottom of the league.^[8]

Cole's record five-goal haul was later equalled by Alan Shearer – for Newcastle United against Sheffield Wednesday in September 1999;^[9] Jermain Defoe – for Tottenham Hotspur against Wigan Athletic in November 2009;^[10] and Dimitar Berbatov – for Manchester United against Blackburn Rovers in November 2010.^[11]

Ipswich goalkeeper Forrest went on to concede a further seven goals playing for West Ham against Manchester United in a 7–1 defeat in April 2000.^[12]

Ipswich's 3–2 win at Portman Road earlier in the season was oddly enough, the only occasion that Manchester United conceded three goals in a Premiership match, that season although they surrendered their title defense.

References

Specific

1. ^ September 1994 "Results & Matches on: Sat, 24 Sep 1994". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=24 September 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Video: Ipswich 9-0". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). 30 August 2011. http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Features/2011/Aug/Video-Ipswich-0-United-9.aspx. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
3. ^ "Premiership 1993/94". Soccerbase. Racing Post. http://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=120. Retrieved 14 April 2011. 
4. ^ Nichols, Tim (8 May 2008). "The agony and the esctasy of those last day escape acts". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-564941/The-agony-esctasy-day-escape-acts.html. Retrieved 14 April 2011. 
5. ^ "English Premier League 1994–1995 : Table". statto.com. Statto Organisation. http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/premier-league/1994-1995/table/1995-02-28. Retrieved 27 October 2009. 
6. ^ "United versus Ipswich Town". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/opponents/ipswich.html. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
7. ^ Yannis, Alex (7 March 1995). "Soccer report". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60615F839580C748CDDAA0894DD494D81. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
8. ^ "Premiership 1994/95". Soccerbase. Racing Post. http://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=119. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
9. ^ "Shear Magic – Alan's greatest moments!". BBC Tyne. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 January 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/articles/2006/01/17/shear_magic_feature.shtml. Retrieved 15 July 2009. 
10. ^ Fletcher, Paul (22 November 2009). "Tottenham 9–1 Wigan". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8365091.stm. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
11. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (27 November 2010). "Man United 7–1 Blackburn". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/9221096.stm. Retrieved 27 November 2010. 
12. ^ April 2000 "Results & Matches on: Sat, 1 Apr 2000". Soccerbase. Racing Post. http://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1 April 2000. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 

General

• Rob McCaffrey, Tony Gubba (1995). Record Breakers: Manchester United 9–0 Ipswich Town (VHS). Granada Sports Television. ASIN B000057K06.