Ipswich Reserves 2 MK Dons Reserves 1IPSWICH Town stretched their lead at the top of the Pontin's Holidays Combination East Division with this victory over MK Dons at Portman Road last night.

By Elvin King

Ipswich 2 MK Dons 1

IPSWICH Town stretched their lead at the top of the Pontin's Holidays Combination East Division with this victory over MK Dons at Portman Road last night.

Beaten just once - in their opening game of the season - Richard Hall's side now has 24 points from nine games.

Their nearest challengers are Southend with 16 points from the same number of matches.

So some silverware looks on the cards for the Blues this campaign, but it will be a rather hollow achievement.

The lack of games - this was Ipswich's first match in the competition for over a month - and the standard of opposition does little to fashion youngsters into first team material.

After participating in the meaningful Premier Reserve League for a number of years, the sooner a better fixture list is found for Town's fringe players the better.

Billy Clarke played up front for over an hour with Danny Haynes to suggest neither is likely to start at Sunderland on Saturday.

It was Haynes and Jaime Peters who scored the home goals.

The Blues were not at their best against young opposition and showed the rustiness associated with being idle for so long.

Haynes scored in the 17th minute when he received an astute pass from Martin Brittain to score with only the keeper to beat.

The visitors equalised in the 29th minute when the Ipswich defence failed to clear a corner and central defender Oliver Thorne slammed the ball over the line.

Ipswich failed to make too many inroads after that, although Haynes had an effort cleared off the line in the 41st minute.

Town's 52nd minute second goal came from their best move. Peters played a one-two with Clarke and scored with an accurate low shot into the corner.

The newly laid Portman Road pitch still has some fine-tuning to make it a perfect playing surface, but Ipswich gained revenge for their defeat at Milton Keynes in their opening match of the season.

Scouts from Boston, Millwall and Colchester were watching from the directors' box with Fabian Wilnis and Sito Castro steady in a Town defence that included a returning Aidan Collins in the first period.

Ipswich Town: Plummer, Sito, Barron, Moore, Wilnis, A Collins (sub Casement 46 mins), Peters, Trotter, Clarke, (Upson 63), Haynes, (Leabon 63), Brittain. Subs: Synnott, Reason.

MK Dons: Baines, Kent, S Collins, Lovegrove, (Williams 72), Thorne, Page, R Smith (Kelly 78), G Smith (Shooter 46), Shittu, Battams, Tillen. Sub: Walker.

Referee: Mr D Cann

Attendance: 289