Ipswich Town 2 West Bromwich Albion 0

IPSWICH grabbed a victory over First Division rivals West Brom, despite being outplayed for the opening hour.

In the 66th minute, a long shot from Mark Venus was deflected for a corner and Kieron Dyer's kick from the left was headed in by David Johnson.

Eight minutes later Ipswich rubbed more salt into Albion's wounds as Johnson struck for a second time.

He collected a cross from the left by Jamie Clapham and rifled in an angled left-foot shot for his ninth goal of the season.

Ipswich maintained a clean sheet for the 10th time, though this owed much to England Under-21 goalkeeper Richard Wright, whose reflexes denied Lee Hughes a possible hat-trick in the opening 14 minutes.

The hosts changed their style after the interval, with Frenchman Manuel Thetis coming on as a third central defender. The balance of play became more even as Ipswich took their chances and extended a sequence in which Albion have not won at Portman Road for 15 years.

Wright made a one-handed save after six minutes to deny Hughes, pushing the ball along the line after Jimmy Quinn had made the opening.

The only Ipswich chance before the interval came in the eighth minute, when Dyer pulled the ball back from the left but James Scowcroft fired over from 12 yards. After that it was all Albion until half-time.

Mario Bortolazzi put Hughes clear with only Wright to beat, but the Ipswich goalkeeper brought off a well-timed save at the striker's feet. Then Hughes saw an 18-yard drive turned round the post by Wright.

Shaun Murphy had a close-range header deflected wide and Sean Flynn fired over the bar after Quinn put him through, while Micky Evans had a drive blocked as Ipswich held out.

Both sides made use of substitutions in the closing stages but once Ipswich went ahead, they never looked like relinquishing their advantage.

Daily Telegraph