The two teams played out a first half of limited chances, broken up by scrappy play and needless fouls, but the Blues improved after the interval as chances started to flow.
It was Azor Matusiwa who proved to be the match-winner, firing a brilliant strike into the top corner from outside the box to take Town up to third in the Championship table.
Jacob Greaves started at left-back against his former club (Image: Ross Halls)
TEAM NEWS
Kieran McKenna made five changes to the team that beat Swansea City 3-0 on Saturday.
Christian Walton started in goal, playing behind Darnell Furlong, Dara O’Shea and Cedric Kipre, while Jacob Greaves replaced Leif Davis at left-back.
Matusiwa continued in midfield, partnering Jack Taylor, while Marcelino Nunez played in the no.10 role.
Sindre Walle Egeli and Jack Clarke occupied the wide areas. George Hirst came in for his first league start since the defeat at Sheffield United at the end of January.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Walton; Furlong, O’Shea, Kipre, Greaves (Davis 57′); Matusiwa, Taylor (Mehmeti 68′); Walle Egeli (Burns 57′), Nunez (Neil 78′), Clarke; Hirst (Azon 78′)
Hull XI: 5-2-2-1: Pandur; Drameh, Hughes, Egan, McNair, Coyle (Famewo 42’); Crooks (Lundstram 66′), Slater; Gelhardt (McBurnie 46′), Millar (Joseph 66′); Koumas
The Blues threatened from set pieces but struggled to test Hull’s goalkeeper (Image: Steve Waller)
SLOW START
Town went direct in the second minute as they hunted another early goal. Furlong’s ball up the line seemed destined for John Egan, but Hirst eased him off the ball before running through on goal – referee Lewis Smith deemed the contact to be a foul.
The start was scrappy and broken up. Chances were at a premium and the ball felt stuck in the centre of the park. Slick play in the 10th minute opened the game up, with Walle Egeli and Nunez combining to win a corner, although Hull managed to clear the danger.
Ipswich dominated the ball, but they found it tough to break down the Tigers’ back five, which was well protected by the two midfielders, with the wingers also dropping deep off the ball. They occasionally caused problems for themselves in possession, which gave Hull the chance to counter.
The Blues almost picked the lock in the 18th minute as Hirst held up the ball for Nunez, who played it forward for Taylor, allowing the midfielder to fire inches wide of the post from just inside the box.
George Hirst had a good chance to open the scoring just after the half-hour mark (Image: Steve Waller)
FIRST-HALF STRUGGLES
One penetrative through ball from Charlie Hughes opened Ipswich up. That allowed Liam Millar to fire a shot towards goal, which Furlong blocked, before Matusiwa got in the way of Matt Crooks’ rebound on the half-hour mark.
Taylor’s intensity got the crowd going two minutes later. He pressed hard high up the pitch to win the ball, crossing low for Hirst, but the striker was denied by Pandur from close range.
That changed the dynamic of the half a bit. A ball back to O’Shea was pounced on by Liverpool loanee Lewis Koumas, shrugging the Town skipper off with ease before Matusiwa rushed back to knock the ball out for a corner, which Walton was able to punch clear in the 35th minute.
Fouls on Walle Egeli and Clarke provided opportunities for Ipswich to threaten from set pieces. Clarke’s 37th-minute delivery for the second fizzed over everyone and stung the palms of Ivor Pandur.
Play was stopped as Walle Egeli clipped the heels of Paddy McNair. Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic was booked as he appealed for a booking while his captain, Lewie Coyle, was forced off with a knock.
Ipswich asserted their dominance after the interval (Image: Steve Waller)
SLOWLY BUILDING
Hull introduced their 13-goal top scorer, Oli McBurnie, at the break, with Leeds loanee Joe Gelhardt coming off. They won a corner right at the start of the second half following an error from Taylor, but Paddy McNair’s delivery was undercooked.
The story felt similar for Ipswich – promising moments in the final third, but lacking the cutting edge to make Pandur work. Clarke dribbled into space through the middle in the 50th minute before being dispossessed, with Nunez blasting over from range a few seconds later.
The home crowd got right behind the Blues, who tried to turn the screw. The noise ramped up when O’Shea chested the ball on the half-way line before carrying the ball forward and firing into the gloves of Pandur from around 25 yards out.
McKenna opted to change things up just before the hour-mark, introducing Leif Davis and Wes Burns for Greaves and Walle Egeli. Ex-Hull man Greaves, who had been jeered and booed by the travelling fans every time he touched the ball, had more when his name was announced over the Tannoy.
Little changed in terms of Ipswich’s attacking play. Anis Mehmeti was introduced around 10 minutes later, replacing Taylor, with Nunez freeing up the no.10 role by dropping deeper into midfield, playing alongside Matusiwa.
The Dutchman had a big part to play in the final stages of the match.
Matusiwa fired home from outside the box to put his side ahead (Image: Ross Halls)
AZOR WINS IT!
It was Matusiwa who found the breakthrough in stunning fashion. Mehmeti weaved into the box down the left but was dispossessed, allowing Davis to pick the ball up and set up the Ajax academy graduate, who rifled a shot into the top right corner to open the scoring in the 71st minute – his first in an Ipswich shirt.
They should have had a second just after the restart. Burns swept a low cross in from the right, with Clarke firing straight at Pandur. The ball came back out to him, but he fired against the post from point-blank range.
But Hull weren’t going to cave in. In fact, they were in the ascendancy heading into the last minutes of the match, with a low free-kick from the right testing Walton in the 83rd minute. McBurnie was the clear target of their direct play.
The Tigers huffed and puffed, given hope as five minutes of added time were announced, but Ipswich held on to secure a valuable victory, ending their opponents’ lengthy unbeaten run on the road.
Attendance: 26,103