IPSWICH'S celebration of this dramatic defeat of their neighbours was cut short when a quartet of Norwich players claimed they had been struck by rival supporters.

There were scenes of relief and joy as a Bryan Gunn mis-kick handed the home side a crucial victory to give them renewed hope of making the promotion play-offs, but the reaction of a few, described as "morons" by the Norwich manager Gary Megson, went completely over the top.

As hundreds of fans flooded the pitch at the end several appeared to jostle with the beaten Norwich players. Afterwards Megson said: "Four of them say they were belted as they came off the field. It was pandemonium out there and I don't really know what went on. It's sad that we are talking about that and not a fine game of football."

An Ipswich fan accused Gunn of striking out at him in a mel?e as the Norwich goalkeeper went to retrieve the ball from the crowd. The supporter was taken to the first aid room for treatment to his injuries.

The referee Jim Rushton did not see the incident but was informed of the complaint by police officers after the game. The Stoke official will include it in his report to the FA.

Even without the fisticuffs there was drama on a grand scale when Ipswich were presented with a late victory in the 60th East Anglian derby.

As Gunn went to deal with Robert Ullathorne's back-pass the ball suddenly careered up and away from his attempted kick, trundling over the line as the Norwich goalkeeper looked on.

Earlier, substitute Jamie Cureton, who had dyed his hair green for the occasion, had threatened to give Norwich a point, scoring with a right-foot volley just past the hour and within 60 seconds of coming on to the field.

That cancelled out Ipswich's early goal from Ian Marshall.

Daily Telegraph