Ipswich Town came from behind to beat Birmingham City 2-1 at Portman Road, a hard-fought victory that boosted their hopes of an immediate return to the Premier League and lifted Kieran McKenna's side to second in the Championship. Kasey McAteer scored his first Ipswich goal as the Tractor Boys overturned a deficit with two goals in the closing stages of the first half.
Carlos Vicente had put the visitors ahead, only for Ben Johnson and McAteer to turn the game on its head before the interval. Birmingham felt aggrieved at full time, denied an equaliser on 70 minutes when referee Adam Herczeg ruled the ball had crossed the by-line before it went in off Dara O'Shea, even though television replays suggested otherwise. The defeat extended Birmingham's wretched run as their promotion hopes faded, while Ipswich stretched their unbeaten sequence to eight matches.
A profligate start punished
Ipswich made a fast start and almost took an early lead when McAteer powered a shot just over the bar with barely a minute on the clock after being fed by Marcelino Nunez. Herczeg then turned down an Ipswich penalty appeal after Jacob Greaves appeared to be grappled by Jonathan Panzo following a corner, and waved away another shout for a foul on the same player.