Norwich City 2–0 on Boxing Day before drawing 1–1 at Highbury against Arsenal the following day, courtesy of a Wark penalty, his 23rd goal of the season. The year ended with Ipswich in third place in the league, still behind Liverpool and Villa, but by only a single point and with two games in hand. January to May The new year started with two home victories, a 2–0 win against Nottingham Forest and, on what was Robson's twelfth anniversary as Ipswich manager, a 5–1 defeat of Birmingham City, which took Ipswich back to the top of the league for the first time since October. A goalless draw at Everton was then followed by a 4–0 win at Portman Road against Stoke City, with Ipswich's dominance leading Stoke manager Alan Durban to comment: "I've never seen a team with such confidence in their eyes". Ipswich ended the month back on top of the league table, tied on points with Aston Villa and four points clear of Liverpool, and with a game in hand on both. Ipswich went through February with a 100% record, with three home wins over Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and an away win against Coventry City. This consolidated the club's position at the top of the league by the end of the month, two points ahead of Villa and eight ahead of Liverpool, and earned Robson another Manager of the Month award. Two home wins (against Tottenham and Sunderland) and two away losses (against Manchester United and Leeds United) in March for Ipswich saw the gap at the top of the table ahead of Aston Villa reduce to a single point by the end of March, yet Robson was awarded his third Manager of the Month award. Having lost just two league games between August and February, Ipswich's form had started to dip as a result of fixture congestion with them still playing in three competitions. Ipswich's season worsened in April, losing to West Bromwich Albion, Arsenal and Norwich, and securing just four points with wins against Manchester City and Aston Villa. Ipswich ended April second in the league, four points behind Villa with a game in hand, but with only two games of the season remaining. Ipswich needed to win both games to remain in the title chase. They led 1–0 at half-time against Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park, but two goals from Yugoslavian international striker