Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Ipswich Town: Tractor Boys go back into top two

Ipswich Town returned to the Championship’s automatic promotion places for the first time in a month as they won 2-0 at Plymouth Argyle.

But Ipswich upped the intensity after the break as Kieffer Moore twice went close before Conor Chaplin fashioned the opener as his deflected shot wrong-footed Argyle keeper Conor Hazard.

Moore sealed the points as he lashed in after a corner was flicked on, before Miller hit the post for the hosts.

The Tractor Boys’ fifth successive win moves them two points clear of Leeds United, who drop to third place having been held to a 1-1 draw at 10-man Huddersfield Town in the day’s early kick off.

Leicester’s surprise loss at home to struggling Queens Park Rangers means Ipswich are just three points off the leaders.

That win for the R’s – and victories for Swansea City and Stoke City – mean the Pilgrims drop to 16th place, but are just two points off the relegation places.

Moore had the first decent effort of the game as the Wales forward’s flicked header forced a good low save from Argyle’s Conor Hazard after 15 minutes.

Brendan Galloway did well to block an Omari Hutchinson effort after half an hour, before Argyle had their first decent effort seven minutes later as Miller’s volley from Morgan Whittaker’s cross was cleared off the line by Luke Woolfenden.

Ipswich started to gain the upper hand as the second half wore on – Moore had a header saved while Axel Tuanzebe forced a corner with a powerful effort just before the hour mark.

Moore had a header land on the roof shortly before the opener, as Chaplin’s curling effort from 25 yards hit Galloway to send it into the opposite bottom corner.

Moore got his fifth goal in seven game since his loan move from Bournemouth as the Devon-born forward blasted in after Chaplin’s corner was flicked on.

Miller had a powerful strike tipped onto the post by Vaclav Hladky five minutes later as Argyle searched for a way back into the game, but Town hung on for a result that had implications at both ends of the Championship table.

Plymouth Argyle head coach Ian Foster told BBC Radio Devon:

“We don’t like losing games of football, particularly here at Home Park.

“It’s a tough one to take because against good opponents we were in the game for long periods, were carrying a threat and our defensive work has been fantastic.

“We’re just disappointed with the manner of the goal, it’s a really unfortunate one for us – the shot’s going wayward and it’s hit Brendan [Galloway] and ricocheted into the goal.

“My only criticism of the players is we probably needed to bounce on that point and respond a bit better – I thought we were flat after that, I get it because they’ve done ever so well and the manner of the goal can hurt you psychologically.”

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk:

“It was a good, solid performance really. The conditions weren’t easy, it was wet, the pitch was very heavy, but I thought we were mostly in control of the game, or as much as you realistically can be in an away game.

“There were some phases where we played through the pressure pretty well and other than that we were solid off the ball and had good structure to what we did with the ball.

“We always had the belief that the moment would come our way.”