Ipswich Town collected their third win in the space of just six days as they beat Stoke City 2-0 at Portman Road.
The Blues beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light before knocking Bristol Rovers out of the Carabao Cup, meaning that confidence was high for their first home league match of the campaign.
Their first chance came as early as the second minute. Wes Burns picked up a loose ball in midfield, breaking into the final third. He had three options, with George Hirst to his right and Nathan Broadhead to his left, but he ultimately went for goal himself, forcing Mark Travers to push his powerful effort out for a corner.
The first was cleared by the visitors for yet another corner, but the second was played low to Conor Chaplin, who saw his shot blocked for yet another corner, which Stoke managed to deal with.
The Blues heaped on the pressure in the early stages, much like Sunderland did to them the week before. In the sixth minute, Broadhead was afforded too much space down the left, allowing him to pick out Massimo Luongo in the middle. The midfielder saw his shot blocked, but Leif Davis recovered the ball and pushed forward again, playing a dangerous low cross into the box that only just evaded Hirst in the centre.
They couldn’t keep up the tempo, however, as Stoke managed to calm things down and keep control of the ball. It didn’t prevent them from making a near-fatal mistake when Mark Travers’ kick landed straight at the feet of Burns in the 13th minute, but his delivery into the box for Hirst left a lot to be desired.
Town kept knocking at the door. A long ball to Leif Davis seemed destined for a throw-in, but the left-back kept it in, delivering a dangerous cross that the Potters managed to clear as far as Daniel Johnson. Broadhead, however, rushed in and robbed him of the ball, setting up Chaplin to flash a shot past the post in the 18th minute.
The wide players kept causing problems. Michael Rose became the first booking of the game when a pinpoint cross found Davis, forcing the former Coventry City defender to bring him down on the counter just after the 20-minute mark. By the 23rd. minute, they’d made nine fouls.
They were made to pay for it less than 60 seconds later when Sam Morsy floated a free-kick into the box from the right flank. Luke Woolfenden was able to rise highest, diverting the ball past Travers and into the bottom of the net.
They came close to doubling their lead shortly before the half-hour mark. A slip from Ben Pearson allowed Chaplin and Broadhead to play a quick one-two into the box, with the latter seeing his close-range shot parried away at the last second.
Strangely, Alex Neil rolled the dice just 34 minutes into the game, bringing former Aston Villa striker Wesley on for Chiquinho. It did little to stop the immediate danger, with Chaplin firing narrowly wide of the post with a powerful strike from distance just a few seconds later.
Stoke were working off scraps up until the 37th minute when Josh Laurent curled a long-range effort well wide of the goal, but their best chance came just a minute later when a quick attack carved Town open, allowing Daniel Johnson to take aim from the centre of the box. It meant Vaclav Hladky was called into action for the first time, making an impressive low save to keep his shot out of the net.
While Ipswich began to lose momentum as the clock ticked towards half-time, there was still time for one last chance before the break. A perfect ball from Burns found Hirst in the box, but his low flick clipped the post and bobbled out for a goal kick, with the Blues taking their lead into the break.
Stoke started the stronger after the break, with Andre Vidigal beating Cameron Burgess before firing a powerful shot at Hladky, forcing the goalkeeper to spill it before Town could clear the danger.
A deflected shot from Ben Pearson won the Potters a corner soon after, but Ryan Mmaee could only head over the bar.
Their pressure soon started to become a problem, and it became clear that Neil had delivered some stern words in the dressing room at half-time. In the 52nd minute, a flick from Ben Wilmot allowed him to take the ball around Hladky, but the most he could do from the angle was win a corner, which Town cleared.
It seemed to wake Ipswich up. A quick pass from Broadhead played Chaplin into space, allowing him to take aim from distance and sting the palms of Travers, who managed to gather the ball before Hirst could rush in for the rebound.
Frustration clearly began to grow as a series of baffling decisions from referee Josh Smith enraged the home supporters, but the Blues still managed to threaten. One of their better chances came in the 63rd minute, when a weaving run from Burns ended with Travers almost spilling the ball before rushing in to grab it away from the onrushing danger.
Kieran McKenna opted to make a double change in the 68th minute, bringing off Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst for Marcus Harness and Kayden Jackson. The latter was involved immediately, using his pace and power to break down the right and deliver a low cross that had to be cleared for a throw-in.
As the clock ticked towards full-time, it looked like Town were heading towards yet another nervy finale, having failed to double their lead with a handful of half-chances. Then, in the 82nd minute, a gap appeared down the right that allowed Burns to pick up the ball, firing a low cross into the box for Jackon to tap into the back of the net from point-blank range, sealing the win for Ipswich.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Donacien, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo (Taylor 90'); Burns, Chaplin (Hutchinson 82'), Broadhead (Harness 68'); Hirst (Jackson 68')
Stoke XI: 4-2-3-1: Travers; Hoever, Rose, Wilmot, Stevens; Pearson, Laurent; Chiquinho (Wesley 34’), Johnson (Sidibe 82’), Vidigal; Maee (Gayle 74’)
Attendance: 29,006
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