MICHAEL CHOPRA CUTS DOWN CLARETS

MICHAEL CHOPRA lashed in his 16th goal of the season to make it five home wins in a row for Ipswich.

Burnley midfielder Dean Marney gifted the hosts the chance after losing the ball in midfield to Lee Martin, whose initial shot was saved by Lee Grant but fell for Chopra to apply an unerring finish.

Ipswich were furious at being denied a first-half penalty when Lee Bowyer was bowled over in the area under a Marvin Bartley challenge from a Jay Emmanuel-Thomas cross.

But Bowyer, back in the starting line-up for the first time since the turn of the year, almost marked his return with a goal soon after, with Grant tipping his header over.

Grant also kept out a Grant Leadbitter free-kick from 25 yards and made an even better stop to thwart Chopra from close range after saving from Aaron Cresswell.

When Grant was left floundering by another Leadbitter effort, Kieran Trippier came to Burnley’s rescue with a goal-saving block.

Burnley looked dangerous early on but squandered chances, with top scorer Jay Rodriguez denied by Alex McCarthy, before Trippier fired into the side netting.

Left-back Daniel Lafferty headed a Marney free-kick wide and Charlie Austin also had a shot blocked. But Eddie Howe had to use all three substitutions before the hour to try to stem the Ipswich flow while his team struggled for possession.

Daily Express