Premier LeagueIpswich Town 1-3 West Ham United
Sunday, 25th May 2025
by Chris Wilkerson
West Ham ended their horrible season with a comfortable victory away at Portman Road as The Hammers beat relegated Ipswich 3-1 and finished their campaign in 14th position.
Goals from Ward-Prowse, Bowen and Kudus gave Graham Potter's side a deserved victory, with the quality in important areas the difference between two teams who otherwise had as much of the play as each other.The victory means The Hammers have won more games and earned more points on the road this season, but can at least head into the summer with a smile on their faces, a worthy goodbye to some departing Irons, and a victory for the travelling fans who have stuck with them through thick and thin this season.
For everyone involved, it's looking forward to a reboot and much change over summer, and the chance to forget what has been a miserable year at the club.
West Ham have lost their final fixture of the season in each of the last three years, and the manager made five changes from the defeat last week to Nottingham Forest, with Fullkrug, Mavropanos, Alvarez, Scarles and, for his final appearance, Fabianski coming in for Kudus, Cresswell, Rodriguez, Coufal and Areola. It appeared to be a front two, with Bowen playing close to Fullkrug and Soucek again operating slightly advanced of the pair in central midfield of Ward-Prowse and Alvarez.
The visitors could confirm their place above Manchester United and Tottenham with a victory, whilst still in with a chance of moving a place higher if they won and Wolves didn't. The home side were playing for pride, and looking to send their own fans into the summer happy with a rare home victory, having not won in front of their own fans since December.
The game always felt like what it was, a final game of the season that didn't really matter. There was a lack of real intensity throughout, and the game was always open as neither prioritised stifling it.
Bowen and Fullkrug started with some promise as a pair, combining around the Ipswich box with quick passing to make half an opening for Bowen, but his shot was weak and wide.
It has been a disappointing season for the winger, who has managed to maintain many of his own high standards on the pitch, but will be frustrated that his first year of captaincy has seen such an underwhelming season for the club, and with his England place lost in Thomas Tuchel's most recent England squad.
Ipswich have lost all eight of their home games since that December win against Chelsea, but looked to finish the season on a high.
The tricky Hutchinson threatened throughout the game and probably should have scored early on. A forward ball to the halfway line saw Todibo dive in to try win the ball, and lose out with Ipswich pushing on two-vs-two.
Hirst was able to slip and still poke it on to Hutchinson, who drove into the box down the right and found himself with space to shoot from a reasonable angle, 10 yards out, only to hit right at a grateful Lukasz Fabianski. That seemed to inspire the home side, and it was their game for the next 15 minutes as Ipswich pushed West Ham box and kept them under pressure.
They may feel it was somewhat a microcosm of their season, with a team that is perfectly able to compete in the middle third of the pitch, but just lacks decisive quality at either end. The hosts could play around West Ham, press them into mistakes and steal the ball for quick transitions in midfield and defence, but failed to create significant chances.
Fabianski was tested once, and tested to full stretch. Patient passing around the box eventually found Broadhead on the edge, and the midfielder found space to curl from the left to the far corner.
His effort was well struck, but couldn't quite find the far reaches of the goal, Fabianski instead flying to his left and then reaching above himself at full stretch to palm away and give at least one more sight of him in full motion, repelling the ball away from the back of his net.
It woke The Hammers up, Ward-Prowse crossing well from the right for Fullkrug, but the German was only able to flick a leg at it and poke straight to the goalkeeper. A minute later, he tumbled into the box in a battle with O'Shea, but replays show a striker far more interested in getting tangled up with his defender and trying to win the foul rather than go for the ball.
As the half got closer to ending, Bowen and Fullkrug combined well once more to create a chance, the Englishman going direct to the German's feet from 10 yards outside the box, getting it back instantly as he moved forward to the edge of the area, but his shot was struck too close to Walton. It was parried down, but Ward-Prowse couldn't make anything of the rebound.
Hutchinson exposed Scarles a few times and looked to have got behind him again from a diagonal, only for the offside flag to spare his blushes when missing a big chance, but it was The Hammers who ended the half on the up.
They were given a gift by their gracious hosts, Morsy turning in his own half under a little pressure, passing back to his centre back but with too much panic, hitting past his man and seeing Jarrod Bowen steal in to take the ball. He knocked it into the box, and as two men dived in to stop him shooting, he reversed the pass into the path of Ward-Prowse as he sprinted into the box, and the midfielder passed it into the far corner to give his side the lead and score his first goal of the season with a couple minutes of the half remaining.
There were no changes at half-time, but the scoreline quickly changed as Ipswich equalised seven minutes after the restart. A poor clearance up field by Fabianski, too flat and hard in front of Fullkrug, was poked by the German and then left to run for the Ipswich defence to play out under no pressure as the striker did nothing to make things harder.
The pass forward found Broadhead, who was skipped past a ridiculously loose challenge by Todibo to find acres of space stepping into the West Ham box. With the centre back missing, Broadhead dribbled into the gap and then placed it firmly into the bottom corner to beat Fabianski and get his side level. It was not the first nor the last time Todibo made an unnecessary challenge and a sloppy error in his individual defensive work.
Thankfully, for him and The Hammers, Ipswich could hold their lead for only two minutes. It was a lovely goal, and a 13th Premier League goal of the season for the captain Jarrod Bowen.
It was a throw halfway down the right wing of the Ipswich half. Bowen threw into play for Ward-Prowse, who looked for options then returned it back to the attacker. He quickly exchanged passes with Wan-Bissaka and drove off the wing into the middle, cutting across the pitch towards the area.
A little shift of the body gave him space to shoot from just outside the box, and he didn't waste his opportunity, smashing the ball with a fizzing, rasping drive that seemed to pick up power as it flew beyond Walton's left hand and into the corner.
That flattened the contest, Ipswich immediately deflated as their hope of a final day win flew away from them so quickly once more. The action dipped. Coufal and Kudus came on for Fullkrug and Scarles, then Paqueta and Guido Rodriguez into the final 10 minutes for Alvarez and Ward-Prowse.
Clarke could have got his side level again, dribbling through the West Ham defence after Todibo tackled his own man on the wing. The former Sunderland man, whose former side will replace his current one after their playoff victory this weekend, was unlucky that his mazy run could not be rounded off, curling just wide of goal.
As time ran out, Kudus put to bed any doubts over the result. It came from Rodriguez winning the ball back in midfield, and his tackle dropped to Kudus. The Ghanaian went forward from halfway and drove to the box before laying off for Rodriguez's overlapping run down the right of the area.
The Argentine squared instantly back to Kudus, and he was given space to shoot as the defender put him under little pressure and got his positioning wrong, not blocking any of the goal. It gave Kudus a straight shot to the far corner, and he took it, driving it home from 15 yards and signing off his season, and maybe his West Ham career, with a well-taken goal.
Ipswich should have equalised a couple minutes later, after Clarke danced down the left-hand side of the West Ham box. His ball across goal was met at the far post by Hutchinson, and he slid in to smack it home from a few yards out, only for Kilman to slide in and make a goal-saving block.
Cresswell was brought on for a final goodbye as we moved into stoppage time, Bowen handing him the captain's armband, and it was a fitting end to the game that West Ham were able to comfortably see out. It was a deserved victory for The Hammers, who displayed more quality at both ends of the pitch.
As for the season, forgettable would be a blessing. A rare achievement, and not one many cherish, to score more points away from home than in front of your own fans, and only the three promoted sides were worse than The Hammers when playing at home.
It has been a time to say goodbye to many in the last few weeks, but those contracts not being renewed are just the start of what will be many departures this summer. This will have been the final appearance for a good number of those on show, both in the starting lineup and on the bench, but this is what the squad needs.
There is no denying that this year has been a failure. A year removed from David Moyes, the West Ham leadership have completely failed the next steps, and this season has been continued evidence of and punishment for that.
Now, Potter has to fix a squad prepared poorly for multiple managers. This summer, the squad has to see his stamp across it, or the next season will be similar, if not worse. Eventually, one of these promoted teams is going to survive, and West Ham look a serious contender for relegation next season.
So, enjoy the summer, it's going to be dramatic and it's going to be important, but it may just put this miserable 2024/25 slog entirely in the past.
Have a good summer off, you've earned it!
Manager's Rating
Graham Potter: 7/10 Changes to the team worked, changes from the bench worked, although the opponent was charitable. It has been a hard few months for Potter to establish himself with this squad, but the summer is where the real work begins to make this team in his image. He will hope he gets the support he needs, and gets left alone to pick players without the owner's interference.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Ipswich Town match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Lukasz FabianskiFourth-oldest ever appearance maker for the club with this farewell start. Could do nothing with the goal, but made some smart stops, one eye-catching one, and still looks capable at this level. Fabianski has been one of the club's best ever signings, and has staked his claim to be West Ham's best goalkeeper of the Premier League era. Thank you, Fab.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Up and down the line all game, he was never really troubled and didn't make a big impression in attack. A worthy HOTY, a great first season.
Ollie Scarles
Every senior game is a learning experience for Scarles, and he improved across the game after being caught out a few times by Hutchinson. A good opening season in the first team, he has seemingly cemented himself as an option in the team and the squad from now on.
Jean-Clair Todibo
Repeated errors of judgement when going for challenges and engaging in duels that he did not need to be forcing the issue on. The goal exposed him, but it was not the first or last big mistake. He has had a topsy-turvy year in his first season in England, and the club will likely wish that obligation in his loan signing was not part of the contract.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Much-maligned, Mavropanos never gives anything but 100% effort and played well here. One mistake he then instantly cleaned up himself, and he was otherwise calm and strong in defence.
Max Kilman
Will not look back at this first season at the club with much fondness, but he has shown enough to suggest there is more to come. He has become a bit of a target due to his price tag, but he's had a solid, if unspectacular season and looks far from the problem of this team's defensive work. The block at the end of today's game to keep it 3-1 was fantastic.
James Ward-Prowse
Energetic performance and maintained possession well, getting his first goal of the season. For Ward-Prowse, it has been an incredibly frustrating year, first sent out on loan, then barely used there. He came back to a team struggling to perform and has worked hard in a position that isn't necessarily to his suiting, deepest in midfield to protect possession. The way he got into the box and was high on the press to get his goal is probably more what he wants to be doing, and he will hope the midfield signings are good enough that he can play in this role more often.
Edson Alvarez
If this was his final audition to earn a place next year, he did not look to pass it. He doesn't pass well enough for what Potter looks to do and is not one for control, which Potter wants. He is more erratic, and a move suits both parties. Here, he was busy and showed his defensive workrate, but he looks short of the technical skills the manager wants and the team needs.
Tomas Soucek
Another game where he was box-to-box without much impact. It is hard to judge what his role will be when things change with recruitment, but he looks like a player who will be useful in rotation rather than a key starter.
Jarrod Bowen
A goal and an assist to send a message to Tuchel, although considering his recent form it appears the German isn't watching West Ham games anyway. The anticipation to win the ball for the first goal is elite, and the reverse pass is a beautifully cute assist. His goal is then brilliant. The only times Fullkrug looked anywhere near a Premier League player was with Bowen near him, and at least there were signs those two could build an understanding.
Niclas Fullkrug
His moments with Bowen looked promising, but he was a passenger otherwise. A frustrating first season, and with no guarantees there will be another.
Substitutes
Vladimir Coufal(Scarles 73') Not much of Coufal today, but he has been an absolute warrior for the club and will be missed.
Mohammed Kudus
(Fullkrug 73') It could have been his goodbye, but that is a good cameo performance for a substitute, with a great finish. Five goals and three assists is not a good enough season, but his improvement under Potter has been promising.
Guido Rodriguez
(Ward-Prowse 80') A good finish to a bad season for Guido, who still looks a little too slow, but flew forward to get an assist late on.
Lucas Paqueta
(Alvarez 80') Couldn't influence the game.
Aaron Cresswell
(Todibo 90+') 11 years, one of the few left who had played at Upton Park, and a European champion with that Conference League win. In this reporter's eyes, he has surpassed Julian Dicks as the best left back for West Ham of the Premier League era. A special left foot and a character that nobody wants to lose, it has been a joy to see him finish the season so strongly.
Alphonse Areola
Did not play.
Andy Irving
Did not play.
Luis Guilherme
Did not play.
Danny Ings
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Ollie Scarles, Jean-Clair Todibo, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen, Niclas Fullkrug.Goals: James Ward-Prowse 43 Jarrod Bowen 55 Mohammed Kudus 87 .
Booked: Max Kilman 0 .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Ipswich Town: Walton, Tuanzebe, Greaves, O’Shea, Davis, Morsy (Luongo 88), Cajuste (Taylor 78), Hutchinson, Chaplin (Clarke, 70), Hirst (Delap 70), Broadhead (Szmodics 78).
Subs not used: Slicker, Woolfenden, Burgess, Boniface.
Goals: Broadhead (52).
Booked: Delap.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Tim Robinson.
Attendance: 29,771.
Man of the Match: Aaron Cresswell.