Ipswich 0-2 Brighton: Veltman leaves Ipswich irate and tops ratings

You know it has been a good day at the office when Joel Veltman leaves opposition fans absolutely irate. Which was the case after Ipswich Town 0-2 Brighton, helping Veltman to top the player ratings the day after his 33rd birthday.

Veltman’s value to the Albion has been particularly underlined during the recent eight game winless streak. Brighton conceded 13 times through it. 11 of those goals came with Veltman not playing. Only two went in with him on the pitch.

The long wait for a victory was finally ended at Portman Road and of course Veltman was central to it. He defended resolutely to help Brighton to a clean sheet and showcased his mastery of the dark arts – much to the home crowd’s anger – on an evening when the Albion performance was not terribly convincing.

Getting a result though was all that mattered. And was duly achieved thanks to goals in the final 30 minutes from Kaoru Mitoma and substitute Georginio Rutter.

Here are your Ipswich 0-2 Brighton player ratings.

Bart Verbruggen – 7.88

Would have been a very different outcome without Verbruggen making three impressive saves when the Tractor Boys had Brighton under the cosh towards the end of the first half.

JOEL VELTMAN – 8.25

A couple of strong challenges were required during the spell Ipswich were on top. He played his part in getting Liam Delap booked early in the second half. Being berated by 27,000 angry Ipswich fans was probably his idea of the perfect belated birthday present.

Adam Webster – 7.25

One brilliant first half challenge was reminiscent of peak Webster from 2021-22, when he was apparently in-line for an England call up until injury struck. This was a flawless performance which showed there is life in the old dog yet. If you can call a 30-year-old an old dog.

Jan Paul van Hecke – 7.25

Has a decent record when it comes to marking physical, powerful centre forwards. That the main talking point from Delap’s performance was his yellow card and a couple of moments of petulance tells you what a good job Van Hecke did against the in-form Tractor Boys forward.

Pervis Estupinan – 7.13

Solid defensive display and helped to support Mitoma at important moments going forward. Fabian Hurzeler talked recently about the importance of building partnerships on the pitch. When you see Estupinan and Mitoma dovetailing, you know exactly what he means.

Carlos Baleba – 7.13

Not a game in which he showcased his ability to dominate midfield. But do not underestimate Baleba’s importance to seeing the win out. Those 2-0 leads against Wolves and Leicester City were both surrendered following his substitution.

Yasin Ayari – 7.13

To write Ayari off at half time of a game is seemingly risky business. A shocker of a first 45 minutes was followed by a much improved second half, including playing an important role in Mitoma’s goal when helping shift the ball to Matt O’Riley.

Simon Adingra – 5.25

Not a right winger. Please stop playing him there, Herr Hurzeler.

Matt O’Riley – 6.25

Set up Mitoma for the Albion opener but this was another evening in which he did not look like a number 10. O’Riley left Joao Pedro isolated at times, suggesting he would be better suited to a deeper role.

Kaoru Mitoma – 7.13

Back in the goals for the first time since November, although he was given a helping hand from Christian Walton as the ex-Albion goalkeeper allowed the ball to squirm under his body.

Joao Pedro – 6.63

Walton could somewhat justifiably claim that error came because he was still shaken up by being rugby tackled into next week by Pedro a little earlier. Pedro was probably lucky to get away with only a booking. Walton did at least gain some measure of revenge with a good save to claw Pedro’s shot out of the top corner as Brighton sought a second goal.

Lewis Dunk – 6.75

Not for the first time this season, Hurzeler was shrewd in his use of substitutes. Neither Webster nor Dunk is fit enough yet to get through 90 minutes. Introducing the latter for the former for the final 30 minutes was good management.

Georginio Rutter – 7.88

Second spot in the Ipswich 0-2 Brighton player ratings went to Rutter for a fine cameo from the bench. His finish on the turn doubled the lead and his pressing helped the Albion defend their two-goal advantage from the front.

Yankubu Minteh – 6.38

Unsurprisingly offered more of a threat down the right than Adingra. Might have scored were it not for a timely Ipswich block in a goalmouth melee.

Danny Welbeck – 5.63

Introduced late in the day for more minutes under the belt. The big question is will he be fit enough to start against Manchester United on Sunday and continue his astonishing record of scoring against his former club?

The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via social media. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter or We Are Brighton on Bluesky and look out for the player rating thread after each game.