Old Farm derby
 |
|
| Other names | Old Farm derby |
|---|---|
| Locale | East Anglia |
| Teams | |
| First meeting | 15 November 1902 |
| Latest meeting | Ipswich 1–1 Norwich (21 August 2016) |
| Stadiums |
Carrow Road Portman Road |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 142 |
| Most wins | Ipswich Town (60) |
| All-time series | Ipswich Town: 60 Draw: 27 Norwich City: 56 |
| Largest victory | Ipswich 5–0 Norwich (21 February 1998, Home) Ipswich 1–5 Norwich (21 April 2011, Away) |
The East Anglian derby is a sobriquet used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town. In recent years it has sometimes been described humorously as the Old Farm derby, a reference to the Old Firm derby played between Celtic and Rangers. The derby has been rated as the second fiercest rivalry in England.
There have been 142 instances of the derby, with Ipswich winning 60 to Norwich's 57. The series began in the early 20th century, when both clubs were amateur, with the first derby between the two professional clubs taking place in 1939. The most recent match was a 1–1 draw at Portman Road, Ipswich's home ground, in August 2016.
Winning the derby is one measure used to determine which club from the region can declare themselves the "Pride of Anglia".
According to the Football Rivalries Report 2008, the East Anglian derby is the second fiercest rivalry in England after the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The report stated, "The gap of 40 miles doesn't make those East Anglia 'Old Farm' derbies any less intense, and this, combined with the regularity and closeness of the games, and the recent fortunes of both clubs, put it ahead of all but one rivalry in League football."
Former referee Keith Hackett, said of the East Anglian derby:
As for the most aggressive atmosphere that I’ve ever encountered, believe it or not it was at Carrow Road for Norwich v Ipswich Town. There are certain derby fixtures that you always know are going to be highly charged, but the East Anglian derby tops the lot. The players came out of the tunnel as if they were ready for a boxing match. The noise was intense and aggressive.
Rob Hadgraft, who wrote The Old Farm, suggested some reasons for the intensity of the rivalry: "I think it's because each club represents the entire county ... There's only one club in Norfolk, and the same goes for Suffolk ... The people live up to 40 miles apart, so they don't mingle and have pals who support the other lot ... you've got two sets of fans who never really mingle or mix, and there's no proper friendships. They really do despise each other."
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