Ipswich defeated Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough to keep pace in the Championship.
Just before halftime, Conor Chaplin finished off Leif Davis’ pullback to secure the victory. Devis Vasquez, the Owls’ goalkeeper, was the only reason the visitors didn’t win by a bigger margin.
Ipswich is third, one point behind leaders Preston, and continues to be unbeaten on the road.
Wednesday has one point from their first six games and is still winless.
Relive the EFL action from Saturday.
The visitors had the better start, and on minute 14, when Freddie Ladapo connected with Wes Burns’ low cross for his fourth goal in three games, Vasquez had to react fast to stop him.
On minute 36, Burns drove into the area and Chaplin’s follow-up attempt went past the post after the keeper parried a low drive from an angle.
Prior to the deadlock being broken at the opposite end just before halftime when Town built from the back and a brilliant Massimo Luongo pass found Leif Davis down the left, Michael Smith deflected a header from a free-kick way over the bar in a rare Owls assault.
He sprinted into the penalty area and cut back for Chaplin, who scored his third goal of the year by slamming a left-footed shot past Vasquez through a sea of legs.
Davis left the game before halftime due to an injury, but five minutes into the second half Harry Clarke was denied a second goal for Ipswich when Vasquez stopped his diving header from a Nathan Broadhead cross.
After coming off the bench to face his former team, Ipswich forward George Hirst, the son of former Owls striker David, immediately blasted an angled lob over Vasquez’s crossbar before having a low shot denied by the goalkeeper’s left hand.
In the latter moments, Vasquez also denied Broadhead from an angle, and the hosts’ best chance to tie the score came from Owls substitute Ashley Fletcher’s errant header.
Manager Xisco Munoz of Sheffield Wednesday stated:
All I can say is “I’m sorry (to the fans),” since I am extremely upset with the opening 45 minutes. The team responded well, but not sufficiently, after that.
“In my opinion, we should maintain the same level of effort for the full 90 minutes.
“I can say’so sorry’ to the supporters today since the first half of the game left me feeling so upset. The Championship is at a very, very, very high level, therefore if we don’t adjust, we can’t win the points.
Kieran McKenna, the manager of Ipswich, stated on BBC Radio Suffolk:
Picking only one thing is difficult. The game, the play, and the outcome were all fantastic. Today’s big one for us was this. It serves as a gauge for us as a squad because we haven’t been able to win here in the last several trips.
“I thought it was a terrific performance. We pressed effectively, created some big opportunities, and dominated the game. We scored just before halftime, but I think we were due a little bit more.
“I felt we should have been two or three up in the second half. The last 20 minutes were encouraging because you have to play the game out differently when you don’t score the second goal; you have to defend well-organized and resolutely.
