IPSWICH Town were unable to find their touch in the Championship at the City Ground this afternoon and went down to a deserved defeat.

The third-placed home side were easily contained in the opening half, but they went ahead soon after the interval – and added two further goals.

After taking the lead, Forest showed why they are having a successful time this campaign often putting Ipswich – who still pushed forward without testing Lee Camp – under considerable pressure.

The sight of key defender Damien Delaney limping off after 54 minutes was not a sight Town fans wanted to see and they will hope the number three has not picked an injury that will keep him out of the remaining three matches.

A rank bad piece of refereeing to give Forest a free-kick in the 47th minute led to a goal out of the blue when Luke Chambers deflected Robert Earnshaw’s effort into the net.

Ten minutes later, Town were found wanting down their right side, and when the ball was pulled back from the by-line Guy Moussi forced home a second goal.

And in the 77th minute Earnshaw added a third following poor defensive play as Town slipped to their biggest away defeat of the season, and their highest in total after their 4-0 thrashing by Newcastle.

Town were unchanged from the side that beat Derby County 3-1 at Pride Park on Easter Monday with the same players also on the bench.

Manager Keane said that he was pleased with the display and the spirit shown against the Rams and that this squad would form the core of his side for next season.

Peters lost possession in the eighth minute and from Anderson’s left wing cross, Earnshaw put in an effort that Delaney almost deflected in his own net – the ball evading the post by a foot with B Murphy wrong footed.

Ipswich were looking assured on the ball cheered on by 1,546 travelling fans and winning a succession of corners and long throws by Wickham.

From a 16th minute Colback corner, the ball dropped to Norris 16 yards out and he saw his left-foot effort blocked by a defender.

Earnshaw dragged a low shot across goal three minutes to show that play-off bound Forest could be a threat.

Forest’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff on Monday ended a sequence of home victories that had stretched to 12 games.

There was little goalmouth action although the pace of the game was high. In the 43rd minute, Leadbitter lifted the ball over the Forest defence giving Wickham a chance to run at goal at an angle. His left-footed low shot went across the goal and well wide of the far post.

There was no stoppage time in the opening half.

It was a warm sunny day beside the river Trent with the weather more fitting to a game of cricket across the road at Trent Bridge.

In the 47th minute an appalling decision by referee Foster led to Forest taking the lead. He ruled that Chambers had been fouled by O’Connor when the right back tripped over his own feet.

The home side took a shot free-kick that led to Earnshaw having a shot and Chambers wrong-footing B Murphy with a deflection off his thigh.

Whether the deflection was intended or not a goal at this stage only looked likely to come through a fluke.

Soon after the goal, Delaney went down injured and when unable to carry on was replaced by Smith. At the same time Edwards came on for Colback with Walters moving to left midfield.

Ten minutes after their first goal, Forest netted a second when Anderson broke free down the Ipswich right, and after B Murphy had made one block following a close range shot, Moussi hammered the ball home from close range.

The Family enclosure at the City Ground was housing fans from both Forest and Ipswich in a venture previous tried by the home side for their match against Doncaster that proved a big success.

Just before he was substituted in the 69th minute after toiling up front in the sun, Wickham created space and just missed the far post with an impressive effort.

The referee appeared to be compensating for his earlier error by giving Town every decision, but in the 77th minute Forest made it three thanks to some poor Town defending.

Edwards lost possession when looking to clear, and B Murphy made a superb save when one-on-one with Earnshaw. The ball was not cleared and Earnshaw was able to tuck away a second chance with precision.

In the 80th minute, O’Connor broke down the left and from right in front of goal D Murphy side-footed his effort over the bar.

As the six minutes of stoppage time commenced, Walters went down the left and from his low cross Norris saw his close range shot deflected over.

Teams

Nottingham Forest: Camp; Chambers (sub Perch 61 mins), Morgan, Wilson, Gunter; Anderson (Majewski 75), Cohen, Moussi, Tyson (Boyd 81); Blackstock, Earnshaw. Substitutes: McGugan, Garner, McGoldrick, Smith.

Ipswich Town: B Murphy; Peters, McAuley, Delaney (Smith 54), O’Connor; Walters, Norris, Leadbitter, Colback (Edwards 54); D Murphy, Wickham (Healy 68). Substitutes: Lee-Barrett, Eastman, D Wright, Martin.

Referee: Mr D Foster (Tyne and Wear)

Attendance: 23,459