Ipswich Town survived a late comeback from Wigan Athletic to hold on for a 2-1 win at the DW Stadium in the Championship this evening.
The home side made the brighter start to the match, as Dean Gerken watched Andy Delort head over from close range early on before Emmerson Boyce appealed for a penalty after being brought down by Christophe Berra.
Ipswich soon started to see more of the ball though, with Scott Carson being tested by a long-range strike from Luke Murphy with just over 15 minutes played.
The visitors took the lead a couple of minutes later as they continued to press, resulting in Luke Hyam being left with a simple tap-in following a cross from Tyrone Mings.
Mick McCarthy's side had a chance to double their advantage later in the first half, but Daryl Murphy's cross towards Conor Sammon was blocked before it could reach the striker.
Ipswich looked the more likely of the two sides at the start of the second half, as David McGoldrick charged towards a loose ball in the box just a couple of minutes after the restart, but the danger was cleared before he could unleash the shot.
The visitors continued to see the majority of the chances though, and managed to double their advantage shortly after the hour mark as former Wigan man Sammon collected a through-ball from McGoldrick, and initially had his effort parried away by Carson, only to fire home from the rebound.
Murphy had a chance to put the win beyond doubt shortly after as he had the chance to fire in a third for Ipswich, but a poor first touch allowed the keeper to gather.
Wigan fought hard to get back into the match in the final 15 minutes, but Gerken was on hand to deny Ivan Ramis after the visitors had given away a corner.
The keeper was beaten inside the final 10 minutes as James McClean tried to lash the ball in from a corner, but it was Martyn Waghorn who got the final touch.
Adam Forshaw came close to getting the hosts back on level terms just a few moments later as he tried to head in from a dangerous cross, but Gerken was left with a comfortable stop in the end.
Oriol Riera was even closer in the final moments of the tie, rattling the post as he tried to blast the ball in from a Boyce cross, allowing the Tractor Boys to hold on for the win.
The victory is Ipswich's first away from home this season, and moves them up to seventh in the table, while Wigan sit 17th.
Sian Cowper
