Jack Clarke came off the bench to fire Ipswich Town back to winning ways with an 83rd-minute winner in a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Portman Road. The winger struck his fifth goal of the season high into the net after a defensive lapse from Albion, finally giving the dominant hosts tangible reward for a performance in which they controlled the contest for long spells.
Kieran McKenna's side, beaten 3-0 at home by Charlton in midweek and on the back of two successive Championship defeats, were on the front foot throughout but had to wait until all three attacking substitutes combined to break West Brom's resistance. Jens Cajuste's press, Ivan Azon's shot and Clarke's clinical finish decided a match in which the visitors created very little, mustering only one effort on target late on. The result lifts Ipswich to within a point of Albion, who remain 11th and two points off the play-off places ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures.
Ipswich seize control as Albion sit deep
From the outset the pattern was clear: Ipswich pushed on, while West Brom sat back and attempted to soak up the hosts' pressure. It was all Ipswich in terms of territory and intent, with Christian Walton increasingly a spectator in the home goal as his team pressed forward in search of an opener. Albion were compact and organised, but they rarely escaped their own half in the early stages.