On this day in 1981, Aston Villa suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town which threatened their hopes of winning the First Division title. The Midlands outfit came unstuck at Villa Park in front of 47,495 people, handing their title rivals a massive two points.
Villa lined up with Jimmy Rimmer, Kenny Swain, Gary Williams, Ken McNaught, Colin Gibson, Des Bremmer, Gordon Cowans, Tony Morley, Dennis Mortimer, Gary Shaw and Peter Withe, but only Shaw managed to hit the back of the net and it wasn’t enough to stop Ipswich taking all the spoils.
April’s meeting was the third time the two sides locked horns this season. Ipswich beat Villa 1-0 in September’s league clash and again in January’s FA Cup bout. In fact, the pair met five times between September 1980 and October 1981.
Despite the defeat, Villa ended up winning the First Division title with 60 points while Ipswich finished second on 56 points. The loss to their title rivals could have proven costly for Ron Saunder’s men, but they managed to get the job in the end.
