East Anglian derby

According to the Football Rivalries Report 2008, the East Anglian derby is the second-fiercest rivalry in England, after the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The report stated, "The gap of 40 miles doesn't make those East Anglia 'Old Farm' derbies any less intense, and this, combined with the regularity and closeness of the games, and the recent fortunes of both clubs, put it ahead of all but one rivalry in League football." Rob Hadgraft, who wrote The Old Farm, suggested some reasons for the intensity of the rivalry: "I think it's because each club represents the entire county ... There's only one club in Norfolk, and the same goes for Suffolk ... The people live up to 40 miles apart, so they don't mingle and have pals who support the other lot ... you've got two sets of fans who never really mingle or mix, and there's no proper friendships. They really do despise each other." ==History==

The first derby was held between the two clubs on 15 November 1902, when both teams were still playing at an amateur level. The Norfolk & Suffolk League fixture was played in Norwich and finished 1–0 to Norwich City. Norwich turned professional in 1905 with Ipswich following in 1936. Ipswich Town was elected to the Football League in 1938, and the first fully professional league game between the two clubs took place on 2 September 1939 in the Third Division South. Played at Portman Road, the match finished 1–1, although the league was abandoned a few days later following the outbreak of the Second World War. As the clubs have tended to play in the same division over the years, the derby has been contested in most seasons since this time, the longest gap being for a period of six seasons between 1986–87 and 1991–92 inclusive. The longest gap since then has been four seasons; following Norwich's promotion to the Premier League and Ipswich's relegation to League One at the end of the 2018–19 season the two teams were at least a division apart until Ipswich's promotion to the Championship at the end of the 2022–23 season. Two of the more notable meetings between the two clubs have come in cup competitions. In the 1972–73 season Ipswich beat Norwich 4–2 on aggregate to win the two-legged Texaco Cup, with 2–1 wins in both legs. In 1985 the clubs met in the semi-final of the League Cup, with a place in the Wembley final at stake. Ipswich won the first leg 1–0 at Portman Road, but Norwich scored early in the return leg at Carrow Road to level the tie. With extra time looming, Steve Bruce scored a late winner to send Norwich to Wembley. In the 2014–15 season there were four East Anglian derbies, because the teams met in a two legged Championship play-off semi-final in addition to the regular two league games played during the season. The first match of the season was held at Portman Road on 23 August; it finished with Norwich winning 1–0. The reverse fixture at Carrow Road was on 1 March and Norwich again won, this time 2–0. The two play-off ties were held on 9 and 16 May, the first at Ipswich. The first leg finished 1–1, and the second leg finished with Norwich taking their third derby victory of the season by winning 3–1 and therefore booking their place in the play-off final at Wembley. ==Derby overview==

Competitive matches Other matches (non-competitive) ==Statistics==

The derby has been contested 122 times in competitive games, 62 of which have been played at Ipswich and 60 at Norwich. In these, Norwich have won 48 times and Ipswich 47, with 27 matches ending as draws. The clubs have also played each other in friendlies and testimonial matches. In total, including friendly matches, the derby has been contested 155 times, with Ipswich having 62 victories to Norwich's 60, with 33 matches finishing as draws. The highest attendance in the derby at Portman Road is 35,077 for a First Division match in September 1975, while Carrow Road hosted 39,890 spectators for an FA Cup match in January 1962. John Wark is Ipswich's leading goalscorer in the derby with nine goals, while Hugh Curran remains Norwich's top scorer with five, a record that has stood since 1968. The most goals scored by a team in a derby match is six, with Norwich scoring six goals in a match during the 1903–04 season. Five goals have been scored by one team on five occasions – Ipswich in 1946–47, 1947–48, 1976–77 and 1997–98, and Norwich in 2010–11. The highest aggregate score in a match is seven goals, Norwich winning 6–1 away at Ipswich in the Norfolk and Suffolk league in 1903–04, and Ipswich winning 4–3 in a Second Division match at Carrow Road in 1968–69. At least six players have scored hat-tricks in derby matches – Hugh Curran in 1968–69 and Grant Holt in 2010–11 for Norwich, Colin Viljoen in 1967–68, Trevor Whymark in 1976–77, ==See also==