Ipswich Town stood up superbly to extreme pressure as they retained League One’s top spot thanks to an excellent victory at Burton.
Marcus Harness scored his third goal in as many league appearances to secure the points, driving home from 25 yards out on the hour to give the visitors a lead they ultimately retained.
But that only tells half the story of a game where the Blues were required to defend an at times relentless Burton bombardment, as Kieran McKenna’s men were posed a completely different set of questions to the ones asked by MK Dons on Saturday.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the visitors found an answer to the hosts’ intense and frenetic aerial threat, which saw Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s men pump balls into the Town box from open play and Tom Hamer’s dangerous long throw.
Ipswich stood firm with a string of important clearances, while goalkeeper Christian Walton once again showed why he is surely the best in the league, with a calm and commanding display which also included a succession of vital saves.
The victory means Ipswich retain top spot, becoming the first team to reach 10 points to put them one clear of Peterborough in second place.
Next up for Town is a trip to Shrewsbury on Saturday.
For the first time this season there was a significant reshuffle in the Blues’ starting XI for a league game, with McKenna making three changes to the side which beat MK Dons 3-0 on Saturday.
Greg Leigh came in for a first league start at left back, in place of Leif Davis, with Kayden Jackson in for injured right-sider Wes Burns and Sone Aluko coming into the side in place of Conor Chaplin.
Leigh’s inclusion was a clear counter to Burton’s physical threat and the likelihood of the ball being in the air regularly, which proved to be the case in the early exchanges. The left-back headed an early ball clear and then looked to do the same from Tom Hamer’s first long throw of the evening. His clearance wasn’t convincing, with a Burton effort turned against the bar early before Town recovered to turn the ball behind.
The early game of pinball cost the hosts the services of Conor Shaughnessy, who limped off after landing awkwardly, with Joe Powell replacing him in for the following Brewers corner, which Lee Evans cleared well.
Town began to play their way into the game and forced a succession of corners, which Burton dealt with, before a first real chance of the night saw Aluko expertly free Ladapo through the middle of the pitch, only for the Town striker to drag the ball across the face of goal as he reached the Burton box.
As the rain began to fall Burton kept their frenetic pace up, putting pressure on the Ipswich box and forcing mistakes. One such occasion saw Marcus Harness play an ill-advised back-pass in the direction of Christian Walton, from the touchline, with the ball intercepted by Gassan Ahadme and the Ipswich keeper needing to bail his team-mate out with a good save.
Town were in danger again a minute later, as the hosts again exploited the Ipswich left as Jonny Smith put in another dangerous cross, with Davis Keillor-Dunn poking over at the far post having wriggled free of Janoi Donacien.
The Blues looked to break when they good, with Jackson’s strong running down the right winning a corner which led to Sam Morsy having a shot deflected wide for another, before the Brewers were able to deal with the Ipswich threat well enough.
Burton’s pace slowed and Ipswich began to have a little more of the ball, with Ladapo having a shot deflected behind and Jackson an effort blocked, before George Edmundson put his name in the box with a rash lunge on Keillor-Dunn in the middle of the pitch.
It resulted in a free-kick which, after Keillor-Dunn had touched it off, Powell fired towards goal and just wide of Walton’s dive and, thankfully, his post.
The biggest cheer of the half came from the away end in added time, when Hamer’s attempted long-throw slipped out of his hands and removed danger, before the two sides headed to the changing rooms level at the break.
The same 11 Ipswich players returned to start the second period, with Burton on the attack early as Smith lashed a shot over the top of Walton’s bar, after stepping inside from the left flank.
Town grew into the half quickly and managed to get the ball down and play, with a good passage of possession down the right ending with Donacien cutting back for Evans, whose shot was pushed away by Viljami Sinisalo.
The by far the biggest chance of the night fell to Ladapo, as Hamer’s under-hit back pass fell straight to the feet of the on-rushing Town striker. But his chance was poor and he was crowded out.
Walton was needed to be at his best to keep the Town clean sheet intact once more, with a top class save with his feet to keep out Ahadme once again, after a loose ball had put Ipswich in trouble.
Then, out of nowhere, Ipswich were ahead as Harness struck for the third time in as many league appearances, moving the ball inside and letting fly from outside the box to send the 1,500 away fans wild and put McKenna’s men ahead.
A triple substitution calmed things down as Kane Vincent-Young, Conor Chaplin and Tyreece John-Jules entered in place of Ladapo, Aluko and Harness, with Jackson switching to become the central striker and firing wide soon after.
Walton was needed again as he clutched Brewers skipper John Brayford’s header from Powell’s cross, tightly to his chest, as the Blues headed into the final 10 minutes with a one-goal lead and three points in sight.
Ipswich were able to control the closing stages of the game to leave with a victory their determined display had deserved.
BURTON ALBION (4-4-2): Sinisalo; Brayford (cpt), Hughes, Shaughnessy (Powell 5), Oshilaja (Adeboyejo 82), Hamer; Taylor, Borthwick-Jackson, Keillor-Dunn; Smith (Moult 88), Ahadme.
Subs: Garratt, Onyango, Lakin, Castro.
Booked: Ahadme (90).
IPSWICH TOWN (3-4-2-1): Walton; Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson; Jackson (Burgess, 90), Morsy (cpt), Evans, Leigh; Aluko (Chaplin 72), Harness (Vincent-Young, 72); Ladapo (John-Jules 72).
Subs: Hladky, Davis, Edwards.
Booked: Edmundson (45), Leigh (90)
Referee: Ben Toner.
Attendance: 3,562 (1,580 away).
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