Frustration filled the air at Portman Road as Ipswich Town slipped to their first home league defeat of the season to Lincoln City.

Ben House’s header from a scrappy Lincoln corner ultimately won it for the Imps, after the striker stooped to head home on 24 minutes, before the Blues relentless pressure couldn’t force a way through.

Ipswich had 76% of the possession throughout the contest and, as the clocked ticked towards 90, the visitors dropped deeper and deeper and allowed the Blues to pick up possession high up the pitch time and time again.

The Blues probed down the flanks in search of space and took aim from the edge of the area on several occasions but couldn’t find a route to goal as Lincoln blocks regularly stopped Town attempts at source.

When Town did hit the target, Lincoln keeper Carl Rushworth was equal to their efforts while Lee Evans hit the woodwork with a deep, flighted free-kick which threatened to creep into the net.

In all, Ipswich had 32 shots on goal, with five on target but, try as they might, there was to be no equaliser during seven minutes of stoppage time as the Imps went home with the points.

Town remain second despite the loss but are now four points behind leaders Plymouth and just one ahead of Sheffield Wednesday in third.

Next up is a Papa John’s Trophy visit to Cambridge on Tuesday night, before Derby County’s visit for a televised League One clash on Friday.

McKenna once again made changes to his side, with Luke Woolfenden, Wes Burns, Marcus Harness and Freddie Ladapo coming into the team which beat Morecambe a week ago.

As the players emerged from the tunnel they were treated to an impressive display in the lower tier of the North Stand, with flags and a banner of the club crest, before all inside Portman Road paid tribute to the late John Duncan, following the former Town manager’s death a week ago.

The game settled into its pattern early, with Lincoln sitting deep and Ipswich having plenty of the ball as they looked to break Mark Kennedy’s side down.

It looked like we were settling in for a repeat of the Cambridge game, where Town eventually found a way through compact visitors, but an unexpected issue arose as the hosts found themselves a goal down.

The Lincoln opener came on 24 minutes from a scrappy set-piece, which saw Regan Poole head a corner vertically up in the air before the ball was shifted to an unmarked House at the far post. The striker stooped to head home with ease.

Town looked to respond, with their first real chance coming as a raking Lee Evans pass saw Leif Davis take it in his stride, before pulling back to Conor Chaplin. Uncharacteristically, though, Town’s sharpshooter missed his kick inside the box, from a position we’ve become so used to him scoring from.

Lee Evans was the next to try his luck, with the Welshman taking aim from outside the box and seeing his low shot pushed away by Carl Rushworth, before George Edmundson headed the resulting corner over the top of the bar.

Davis fizzed a shot over from the edge, of the box, as Town continued to push, before Evans took aim from a free-kick and fired into the body of Rushworth.

The Blues were behind at the break and had work to do as they came out for the second half, with the job nearly becoming harder when goalkeeper Christian Walton got uncharacteristically lost under a high corner, needing Edmundson to bail Town out as House’s drifted towards the goal.

Walton was needed to get down to a low Jack Diamond shot from the edge of the box, before Town raced down the other end and charged towards the Lincoln box with the ball at the feet of Harness, who was able to pop it off into the path of Chaplin on the edge of the area. Again, though, the Town attacker would have expected to do better as his shot was blocked away.

The game was becoming an end-to-end affair, with a Lincoln break ending in penalty appeals as Daniel Mandroiu went down in the box under presser from Davis, but referee Andy Davies waved the claim away.

Ipswich started to turn the screw as the Imps dropped every deeper, with balls into the box tested the Lincoln defence before Davis had a shot deflected over the top and Morsy’s invention on the edge of the area opened an opportunity which ended with Harness blazing over the top.

McKenna then turned to his bench, replacing Ladapo and Chaplin with Tyreece John-Jules and Kyle Edwards, who was involved almost immediately as he jinked away down the left and creating an opening for Harness, who saw a shot blocked before Town’s attack ended with an offside flag.

Town’s forward thrust kept coming, with the Blues given all the time they wanted in the middle third of the pitch before McKenna switched his right side, with Kane Vincent-Young and Kayden Jackson replacing Burns and Janoi Donacien.

A lofted Evans free-kick bounced away off the bar, before John-Jules and then Morsy had efforts off target from the edge of the box, before the board was raised to show seven minutes of stoppage time.

There was to be no way through, though, as Lincoln left with the points.

IPSWICH TOWN (4-2-3-1): Walton; Donacien (Vincent-Young 79), Woolfenden, Edmundson (Ball 86), Davis; Evans, Morsy (cpt); Burns (Jackson 79), Chaplin (Edwards 67), Harness; Ladapo (John-Jules 67).

Subs: Hladky, Keogh.

LINCOLN CITY (3-4-3): Rushworth; O'Connor, Jackson, Poole (cpt); Eyoma, Virtue, Sanders, Roughan; Mandroiu (Sorensen 76), House (Garrick 85), Diamond.

Subs: Wright, Vernam, Oakley-Boothe, Robson, Draper.

Referee: Andy Davies.

Attendance: 27,608 (653 away).