Try as he may, night is stubbornly refusing to turn to day for Roy Keane. Perhaps it is not surprising that two teams boasting just four wins from 38 games between them could not manage another here.

But a home game against Peterborough the bottom side in the division needs to be won, and truly, this was a match Ipswich dominated.

They had 21 attempts at Bristol City on Saturday for the same scoreline; another 18 went begging last night. The boos shook Portman Road to its foundations at full time, making it clear who was the less satisfied of the two sides.

The first half was scrappy, but Ipswich had the better of it. Grant Leadbitter, Jon Walters and Liam Rosenior all went close, while Joe Lewis, Englands erstwhile number three, was excellent, throwing out a left hand to divert Leadbitters wickedly deflected shot wide and later parrying Gareth McAuleys header from point-blank range.

Twice referee Andy Hall thwarted Ipswichs attempts to forge ahead. Stern Johns was forced to cut short his celebrations when his headed goal was harshly disallowed for a push on Craig Morgan, and two minutes later Hall ruled that Lee Frecklingtons handball in the area was an accidental one.

The home side did threatened at times to loosen their grip. They got out of jail once when they gifted the ball to Craig Mackail-Smith, who should have done better than dragging his shot wide, and again when Frecklington, left carelessly unmarked at the back post, could only shoot weakly at Arran Lee-Barrett.

But the pressure was overwhelmingly Ipswichs. They had another strong shout for handball off Bennett, while Jack Colback went just wide with a snapping left-footed volley. But after McAuley hooked over from four yards after Owen Garvans cross, it was clear it was not going to be their night.

Jonathan Liew (telegraph.co.uk)