Ipswich Town capitalised on results elsewhere to go top of the Championship, beating Blackburn Rovers 1-0 at Ewood Park.
The Blues impressed in the early stages of the match, with Conor Chaplin's opener setting the tone for the first 25 minutes. From there, John Eustace's men grew in confidence, looking particularly impressive in the second half, but Town were able to hold on for a crucial victory on the road.
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An early booking for Leif Davis gave Blackburn their first opening. Sammie Szmodics was afforded time to pick out Ryan Hedges with a raking through ball to the right flank, forcing the left-back to rush in and clatter his man. Ipswich did well to clear the free-kick, and they grew into the game soon after.
Somehow, referee Stuart Atwell opted against giving them a penalty in the sixth minute as Callum Brittain dragged grabbed Nathan Broadhead’s shirt and pulled him to the ground inside the box. It didn’t matter too much in the end, however, as Town took the lead in the 9th minute.
A sumptuous pass from Conor Chaplin, played with the outside of his boot, sent Davis on his way down the left. He played it straight back to the attacking midfielder, whose first-time shot caught out Aynsley Pears, fizzing into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0.
In turn, Davis also broke the assist record for a full-back in a single Championship season, with his total hitting 15.
The offside flag provided a let-off for George Edmundson, who turned the ball into his own net following a lobbed effort from Ben Chrisene, but Nathan Broadhead and Chaplin both threatened down the other end of the pitch. Ultimately, they didn’t have the space to properly test Pears.
Blackburn had the ball in the back of the net once again shortly after the half-hour mark as Tyrhys Dolan set up Joe Rakin-Costello to score. However, Szmodics jumped out of the way to avoid being caught in an offside position, but he blocked the view of Vaclav Hladky. The ball flicked off Edmundson and hit the top corner before the linesman raised his flag.
The latter stages of the half were broken up by needless fouls from both sides. Half-time came at a good time for Ipswich, who lost a bit of control towards the end, but the whistle was met by strong boos from the home supporters, who were furious with referee Stuart Attwell.
The first 15 minutes of the second half were played with a real intensity, but neither side was able to create much in the way of concrete chances. That was until the hour-mark, when Blackburn flooded Town's penalty area in search of an equaliser. The best chance fell for Szmodics, who forced Hladky to tip a fierce effort over the bar.
Kieran McKenna changed things up with a triple substitution in the 64th minute, replacing three of his front four players. It did little to change proceedings in the immediate aftermath as Rovers grew in confidence. They tested Hladky again soon after as Scott Wharton headed Harry Pickering's corner into his gloves.
The hosts then bagged their hat-trick of disallowed goals as Pickering teed up Wharton once again. Hladky grabbed the ball, but saw it knocked out of his hands by the centre-back before Andy Moran rifled a shot into the net off the crossbar. Once again, the linesman's flag was raised soon after.
The pressure hasn't just been applied, but Blackburn had piled it on. With 79 minutes on the clock, they were presented with a golden opportunity to equalise as Szmodics robbed Hladky of the ball. Just as the attacker went to take aim at a seemingly open goal, the goalkeeper got back to push it away with an astonishing save.
Town had a rare breakaway to wrap up the win with two minutes of normal time remaining as Jeremy Sarmiento set up Kayden Jackson on the right. He was quickly closed down, forcing him to flash a low shot across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
The memory of the defeat at Cardiff City was fresh in the minds of those in the away end, but this was different. Ipswich expertly navigated five additional minutes to see out a vital win in Lancashire.
Blackburn Rovers XI: 4-2-3-1: Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Wharton, Pickering; Tronstad, Rankin-Costello (Moran 62'); Hedges (Telalovic 82'), Szmodics, Chrisene (Ayari 62'); Dolan
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Davis (Clarke 70'); Morsy, Luongo; Hutchinson (Burgess 90+5'), Chaplin (Sarmiento 64'), Broadhead (Jackson 64'); Moore (Al-Hamadi 64')
Attendance: 18,235 (4,233 away)
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