Leeds United continued their unbeaten run by winning at Ipswich Town for the first time in 12 years this afternoon.
It was Ipswich who began on the front foot and took the lead in the 11th minute when David McGoldrick opened his account for the season with a surging run and finish to the bottom corner.
The Blues could have gone two ahead but were unable to before Leeds equalised when Ross McCormack's shot ricocheted perfectly to Luke Varney to lash home.
It was McCormack himself who won the game for Leeds after the break, letting fly from distance and seeing his shot take a slight deflection before skidding under Ipswich keeper Scott Loach and into the net.
Here, Sports Mole analyses a gritty affair between two hard-to-beat sides at Portman Road.
Match statistics:
Ipswich:
Shots 16
On target 5
Possession 51%
Corners 13
Fouls 4
Leeds:
Shots 9
On target 3
Possession 49%
Corners 3
Fouls 9
Was the result fair?
No. A draw would have been a much fairer result as both of Leeds's goal had fortuitous elements to them and Ipswich could have had more than one in the opening 25 minutes.
Ipswich's performance
Mick McCarthy's side flew out of the blocks and were all over Leeds in the opening quarter of the match before Varney's equaliser halted their dominance. From that point on they lacked a cutting edge and didn't trouble the Leeds goal that much, despite having 16 shots. Defensively they looked solid enough but were simply undone by a pair of deflections. McGoldrick was bright and took his goal very well but drifted off in the second period, with little help from a stagnant midfield four.
Leeds's performance
Not the best performance from his men, but Brian McDermott will be over the moon to head back North with three points. Lucky not to be behind by more than one at the start, the visitors rallied with Varney taking his chance well before a dogged hour saw them hold out and grab victory. If Aaron Cresswell's dipping drive had gone a centimetre or two lower and not hit the crossbar to put Ipswich two up, then it could have been a very different story. Leeds fans won't care, though, they are still unbeaten and right up there.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Aaron Cresswell: The Ipswich left-back has been the subject of rumoured interest from Premier League clubs Fulham and Aston Villa and performances like today's will only enhance his reputation. Leeds's narrow formation allowed the number three to charge up the wing and use his excellent technique to deliver some dangerous centres. Mentioned above, his speculative effort from distance was a cracking try that was unlucky to smack back off the angle of post and bar. Ipswich will do well to keep hold of him in the final week of the transfer window.
Biggest gaffe
No obvious gaffes to speak of in this one but perhaps it should go to Jay Tabb for intervening with McGoldrick's shot - that was goalbound anyway - when he was ruled offside in the first half.
Referee performance
Mike Dean was solid enough with the whistle today. He had few contentious decisions to make and rightly chalked off Tabb's goal for offside as the Ipswich winger was ahead of Leeds goalkeeper Kenny.
What next?
Ipswich: Next up for the Tractor Boys is a trip to Birmingham City in a week's time.
Leeds: McDermott's men, meanwhile, travel to Yorkshire neighbours Doncaster Rovers in the second round of the League Cup on Tuesday before welcoming Queens Park Rangers to Elland Road on Saturday lunchtime.
Pascal Lemesre
