Ipswich Town, despite being reduced to ten men for all of the second 45 minutes, valiantly picked up a 1-1 draw away at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Whilst past clashes with some of the Premier League‘s top clubs have seen the Tractor Boys roll over for a demoralising defeat, this will have definitely been a confidence-boosting share of the points for Kieran McKenna‘s men as they continue to try and stave off relegation.

Liam Delap would pop up again with another sublime strike to gift his team an invaluable draw, with the ex-Manchester City striker a standout performer once more on the road alongside plenty of other positive displays.

Standout Ipswich performers vs Villa

Delap would, of course, steal a lot of the plaudits come the full-time whistle for another poacher-like performance up top, with the 22-year-old only needing 26 touches of the ball to fire home Ipswich’s surprise opener.

Only registering three accurate passes all match long too, it wasn’t necessarily the most stylish showing from the Tractor Boys number 19, but he was in the right place at the right time yet again on the 56th-minute mark to convert only his second opportunity of the contest.

Away from this instinctive finish from Ipswich’s main shining light, the showing at Villa Park as a collective also saw debutant goalkeeper Alex Palmer come up trumps with some big saves, especially when his under-the-cosh team had one less body on the pitch owing to Axel Tuanzebe’s dismissal.

In total, the ex-West Bromwich Albion shot-stopper would prevent 1.79 goals with his blockbuster six saves, which is some entrance into the Premier League for the 28-year-old.

There is another face that hasn’t been mentioned yet that would have seriously impressed McKenna watching on, as the “fantastic” attacker – as he has been labelled by McKenna in the past – dazzled again from the number ten spot.

Hutchinson’s performance in numbers

Omari Hutchinson’s stellar dart forward would set up Delap’s golden opportunity after all, with the ex-Chelsea man beating Ian Maatsen for pace and trickery before claiming himself a deserved assist.

It was certainly a full-blooded display from Hutchinson in the second half too, away from delivering the goods, with five tackles won among other notable numbers to ensure his team came away from their tricky trip to the West Midlands with a point in-tact.

He would only amass 33 touches in the contest – with Palmer managing to register 47 in contrast – but those lack of meaningful touches was more than made up in his overall effort and drive, with McKenna no doubt wanting to continue to pick Hutchinson as a starter week in week out based on his committed display against Unai Emery’s men.

His overall top-flight tally of two goals and two assists does pale in comparison to Delap’s weighty ten Premier League strikes, but both Delap and Hutchinson will be key in Ipswich trying to beat the drop regardless if their starring roles in this determined 1-1 draw are anything to go by.