A Christophe Berra own goal has given Stevenage a 1-0 lead over Ipswich Town halfway through their League Cup clash at Portman Road.

The home side made a bright start to the match, but Mick McCarthy watched his side waste a good early chance when Brett Pitman fired wide from a Larsen Toure cross.

Stevenage responded well to the early pressure to enjoy a spell on top of their Championship opponents as both teams continued to search for the quality needed in the final third of the pitch.

The deadlock should have been broken by the visitors when Dipo Akinyemi managed to hold off a challenge to find David McAllister, who sliced his effort wide of the target.

Ipswich struggled to stop the away side from threatening, and Stevenage were ahead 11 minutes before the interval when a Dean Parrett strike forced a save from Dean Gerken, who was left helpless as the ball rebounded back off Berra to give the League Two side the lead.

An opportunity to equalise arrived a few moments later, but Pitman wasted another chance as he fired wide after being played through by David McGoldrick.