Ipswich Town Vs Swansea: Mehmeti, Azon and Hirst seal 3-0 win at Portman Road
In the latest ipswich town vs swansea meeting, Ipswich Town eased to a 3-0 victory at Portman Road, cutting the gap to second place in the Championship to only three points and sharpening their bid for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Mehmeti strikes inside three minutes
Anis Mehmeti opened the scoring almost straight away, rifling home from just inside the box three minutes into the match after a flowing move down the left involving Sunderland loanee Dan Neil and full-back Leif Davis. Davis galloped down the left and his low cross was only half-cleared by Ben Cabango, leaving Mehmeti to latch on and drive the shot high past Lawrence Vigouroux.
Azon doubles lead late in the first half
Ivan Azon, the Spanish striker on loan from Como, added the second with four minutes left of the first half when Mehmeti kept the ball alive by the corner flag and fed Azon, who rolled a curling finish into the far corner. Dan Neil and Azon had both tested Vigouroux earlier, and Azon had also leapt highest to meet a Davis corner before Vigouroux pushed that header away.
George Hirst finishes the scoring and his run
George Hirst, introduced as a substitute, sealed the victory 16 minutes from time after Mehmeti dispossessed Josh Tymon and squared for Hirst to steer a first-time finish inside the six-yard box. The goal was Hirst's eighth of the season and his second in successive matches as Ipswich completed a comfortable win.
Ipswich Town Vs Swansea: disallowed goal and late drama
Swansea thought they had pulled one back when Gustavo Nunes turned in Melker Widell's low cross, but the Swede was flagged offside and the goal was ruled out. Swansea’s best late chance came with the last kick, when substitute Zan Vipotnik—who began the day on the bench—struck a free-kick against the bar. Earlier, Mehmeti conceded a free-kick when he tripped South Korea winger Jisung Eom; Eom’s set-piece was squared to Ethan Galbraith, whose long-range effort sailed well over Christian Walton's goal.
Home form, table impact and squad notes
This was Ipswich's first home outing since January and their return to the Suffolk stadium after four straight games on the road. The Tractor Boys have scored 59 league goals this season, a tally only bettered in the division by Coventry City, and the victory was their 11th in 17 home league games since they dropped out of the top flight last May. Kieran McKenna's side stay fourth in the table, have a game in hand on second-placed Middlesbrough and have played two fewer than Millwall, who are third. Ipswich have played fewer games than any other side in the division.
Swansea reaction and bench issues
Vitor Matos' team kept probing—Malick Yalcouye and Liam Cullen were both denied by Christian Walton—but Swansea slipped to 16th and to a ninth defeat in their past 11 away fixtures. Jack Clarke started on the bench for Ipswich and 10-goal Jaden Philogene was again absent through injury. Lawrence Vigouroux made several saves for Swansea, including a stop to deny Hirst late on.
Gallery and match coverage
A selection of images from Swansea City's trip to Portman Road has been released as a gallery. The gallery is credited © 2026 Swansea City Association Football Club Limited and is designed & built by Other Media and powered by Clubcast.
With the win, Ipswich move within three points of the automatic places and retain a game in hand. Middlesbrough have the chance to respond when they visit Birmingham City on Monday, while Ipswich press on with the run-in and the fixture schedule that leaves them with fewer matches played than most rivals.
