By the time Kasey McAteer rolled the ball into the net and set off towards the corner flag, the army of stewards were already in place. Hundreds of them in their high-viz jackets, lined up in a row across each side of Portman Road.
Everyone knew what was coming. Their job was to stop the impending pitch invasion. Yeah, good luck with that. Ipswich Town are back in the Premier League. Nothing was holding back this sea of blue. Start the party.
In the end, it was a promotion procession. George Hirst and Jaden Philogene had made it two inside 10 minutes and while a spirited QPR response had instilled a few nerves, McAteer’s late third secured the Tractor Boys’ swift return to the top flight.
It meant that, in the end, they did not need to concern themselves with what was going on elsewhere. No need to keep refreshing the scores. Millwall did all they could, putting away relegated Oxford United. Middlesbrough failed to get the better of Wrexham in a game that could have mattered but, in the end, none of it did.
Ipswich won and that was enough.
There had already been an air of excited confidence around the place before a ball was kicked. You could barely make out the Ipswich team bus as it pulled into Portman Road through the cloud of thick blue smoke from the flares set off to greet them.
Ipswich have returned to the Premier League after securing promotion on the final day of the Championship season
Fans flooded the field of play at Portman Road following the full-time whistle against QPR
Fans chanted about promotion as blue flares and fireworks were set off into the sky
When the kind lady who handed out the media passes directed us to the top of the staircase, she smiled and added: ‘The only way is up!’. Club staff were already discussing plans for the inevitable pitch invasion.
If there was anyone harbouring any nerves, they were soon allayed within seconds of the first whistle. Ipswich, it seemed, were here to party.
They beat Huddersfield 2-0 here on the final day when they went up two seasons ago. They were two to the good inside the first 10 minutes this time.
Leif Davis fizzed the ball across goal for the impressive Hirst to tap in after a goalmouth scramble just three minutes into the game, moments after the full back had raced through himself but seen his shot saved.
Hirst’s physical presence and hold-up play caused QPR no end of problems and the striker turned provider to slip in Philogene for the second.
Philogene, a £20million signing from Aston Villa last January, could not keep Ipswich up last time around but will be crucial to their hopes of making their new stay a permanent one.
He so nearly added a second to his tally in the second-half with a fine first-time volley over his shoulder after Azor Matusiwa cut out the entire defensive line with a little dink in behind.
‘If you’re going up, stand up!’ sang all four sides of Portman Road as the Ipswich fans rose to their feet. The festivities appeared to have begun.
The players celebrated in the changing room after the game as they secured a return to the top flight at the first time of asking
Jaden Philogene (right) scored Town’s second goal of the 3-0 win on Saturday afternoon
It helps, of course, when you’re facing the most ideal opponent for a final-day showdown: QPR began the day 14th, points adrift of the play-offs but 11 points clear of relegation.
No one can expect all promotion jamborees to run entirely smoothly, though, and a nervy spell either side of the break, as a flurry of miscued clearances upfield allowed QPR to push the hosts back, was enough for the home fans to snap out of party mode and demand their players do the same.
If anyone was going to spoil the show, it was substitute Paul Smyth who twice danced his way through a sea of blue shirts. The first time, Jacob Greaves had no choice but to haul down outside the box. Thankfully for Kieran McKenna’s blood pressure, Ilias Chair put his free-kick over the bar. There was no one to stop him the second time, his shot eventually gathered by Christian Walton between the Ipswich posts.
So, there was still room for a few nerves but at least that added to the excitement. Jack Clarke, the man who netted the late equaliser at Southampton in midweek, raced through but pulled an effort wide. Dara O’Shea headed a free-kick beyond the far post.
By then, though, time was already running out for QPR. When McAteer added the third, it most definitely had.
But this is a far different Ipswich to the cavalier outfit that romped to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League by the seat of their pants, scoring hatfuls of goals and not caring that they were conceding only slightly fewer. It was an outlook that rarely translates well in the top flight.
Mark Ashton, the club chairman and chief executive, admitted that the club had gone about it wrong. They hadn’t signed enough players with the physicality and experience to cut in the Premier League. They were going to put it right.
They have got the first step right. They took it until the final day but, at last, they are back.
Celebrations will go long into the night before prepraration begins for the Premier league
‘I’m on my way,’ came Ed Sheeran’s warbling tones at half-time as the Ipswich investor’s song Castle on the Hill played out over the stadium speakers. ‘I can’t wait to go home.’
Now, it’s about making sure they stay there.
