Nothing could separate Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough tonight as they both fought to a 1-1 draw at Portman Road.
Both sides started the match fairly tentatively, cancelling each other out for much of the first half until the hosts started to force the issue, coming close through Grant Leadbitter and Tommy Smith.
Middlesbrough could have broken the deadlock four minutes into the second half, but substitute Lukas Jutkiewicz put his shot wide from just three yards out.
Ipswich had a chance to punish the visitors when Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was fouled in the box by Richard Smallwood, but Leadbitter's powerful spot kick was saved by Jason Steele.
Instead, it was Boro who punished Ipswich for not being clinical enough when, just minutes after the missed penalty, Hoyte found Jutkiewicz, who made no mistake this time.
The Tractor Boys finally found an equaliser five minutes before the end through Leadbitter, making up for his earlier penalty miss.
The result means that Ipswich remain 15th in the Championship table, while Middlesbrough stay in fifth position.
Barney Corkhill
