LONDON, April 29 — The race for automatic promotion to the Premier League will go down to the final day of the regular season after second-placed Ipswich were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Southampton on Tuesday that ended the hosts’ bid for a guaranteed return to the top flight.

Ipswich’s Wes Burns opened the scoring early in the second half but the visitors’ lead lasted just 10 minutes, with Southampton, fresh from their FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City, equalising through Ryan Manning’s free-kick.

And home fans at St Mary’s had even more to celebrate when Cyle Larin put the Saints ahead with 10 minutes of normal time remaining.

But Ipswich were back level in the 87th minute when, following a corner, substitute Jack Clarke drilled a left-footed shot from the edge of the area past Saints goalkeeper Daniel Peretz into the bottom left corner.

Only the top two at the end of the regular season are guaranteed places among the lucrative elite of English football, with leaders Coventry already assured of the Championship title.

Clarke, Ipswich’s leading scorer this season, almost sealed victory two minutes later when his shot hit the base of the post, ricocheted past Peretz and then rolled past the post for a corner.

And in the third of five minutes of added-on time, Ipswich put the ball into the net again only for the effort to be rightly ruled out for offside before Peretz denied Clarke with a superb save.

Had Ipswich – like Southampton relegated from the Premier League last season – won they would have been three points clear of Millwall and all but guaranteed promotion such is their vastly superior goal difference.

But the draw means they must win at home to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday to assure themselves of second place, with Ipswich now a point ahead of Millwall and two clear of fourth-placed Middlesbrough, both of whom could finish runners-up to Coventry.

Millwall are at home to already-relegated Oxford, while Middlesbrough travel to Wrexham, who need a good result to secure a place in the play-offs.

‘Love where we’re at’

“You probably can’t come much closer to getting promoted than we were at the end,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna told Sky Sports.

“It was a matter of inches from the ball going in the net, but I loved where were at and I looking forward to Saturday now.”

The draw extended Southampton’s unbeaten run in the league under Tonda Eckert to an impressive 18 games but ended their hopes of automatic promotion.

The Saints, however, will be involved in the play-offs, featuring the teams finishing third to sixth, that will determine which other team enters the Premier League.

“I would have enjoyed the game if we got the three points but if you want to make an advertisement for the Championship I think that was the game to watch,” said Saints boss Eckert, adding: “We have clarity now and we need to get ready for the play-offs.”

Following a lacklustre first half, Ipswich went ahead in the 48th minute when Burns powered a shot to Peretz’s left and into the top corner, via a slight touch off the keeper’s fingers.

But Southampton hit back 10 minutes later through Manning’s powerful free-kick from the edge of the box. — AFP