Jason Koumas's delight as he hammered in an injury-time winner can have been matched only by the relief felt by Michael Ricketts on the substitutes' bench. The former Bolton striker had departed the field two minutes earlier having scored once but squandered numerous chances, including a first-half penalty, that looked like costing Cardiff two points when Jimmy Juan pilfered an equaliser with a sublime free-kick in the 86th minute.

The match should have been long beyond Ipswich's reach by then, though the combination of Lewis Price's superb goalkeeping and Ricketts' profligacy opened the door for Ipswich until Koumas, the game's most impressive performer, slammed it shut again. The Wales international, on loan from West Bromwich Albion, took the ball on his chest and, despite stumbling, arrowed a 12-yard shot into the top corner.

Ricketts had proved less reliable from that distance when his weak penalty was comfortably saved by Price. It came after Cameron Jerome was brought down by Fabian Wilnis, and the Ipswich defender's subsequent red card frustrated Joe Royle. "I feel hard done by," said the Ipswich manager. "Fabian is adamant that he made little or no contact. There must have been a sniper in the stands."

Cardiff's manager Dave Jones, whose side moved up to sixth, suggested that a yellow card would have been punishment enough for Wilnis. His understanding did not, however, extend to Ricketts, who will not be allowed to take another penalty for Cardiff. "Sometimes players try to be too clever," said Jones, referring to the striker's slow run-up.

Ricketts atoned for that miss when he drilled a shot from eight yards past Price. But the Ipswich goalkeeper kept his team in the game with two eye-catching saves from the same player. "We made their keeper make saves that he shouldn't have been anywhere near," lamented Jones.

Stuart James (Guardian)