A LAST-ditch tilt at the top six appears to be beyond the Blues after their Achilles heel cost them a crucial victory and an end to the Watford jinx.

Two glaring individual errors at either end of the pitch cost Ipswich three points when victory would have moved them six points off the play-offs.

Cruising at 1-0 at Vicarage Road, Michael Chopra somehow put a close-range chance wide of an open goal.

And the contender for miss of the season proved costly as Watford struck back with two second half goals from Sean Murray and Troy Deeney to win 2-1 and stretch their amazing unbeaten run over the Blues to a depressing 15 games.

But it was the manner of Deeney’s 82nd minute winner that proved all too familiar for Paul Jewell and the long-suffering Town fans.

Carlos Edwards’ inexplicably hit a back pass way too short and the Hornets striker cleverly looped the ball over keeper Alex McCarthy and Aaron Cresswell on the goalline.

Two massive mistakes – a terrible miss and a gross defensive error – cost Town dearly and all but ended any faint hopes of a top-six finish.

Loanee keeper McCarthy admitted: “I know I haven’t been here long but I know quite a few of the goals have come from individual errors.

“If we can cancel them out, we will be a much better squad. If we don’t, we will never make the top six.

“No one means to make these individual errors but they are making us drop points. If you want to be at the top of the Championship, then we have to cut them out.”

Many of the results went Town’s way at the weekend and a win at Watford would have moved them six points off the top six with eight games to go.

But the individual errors have again proved their undoing on a frustrating and ultimately flat afternoon.

Jewell conceded that Chopra’s miss was a “sitter” while of Edwards’ mistake, he said: “Carlos has left a short back-pass, it was sloppy. He’s been magnificent for us this season, but that was definitely a mistake by him.”

- Blood the youngsters? Try different formations? What would you like to see Paul Jewell do in the last eight games of the season? Leave your thoughts below