Having seen Millwall move above them into second place with a draw at West Bromwich Albion on Friday night, Ipswich were once again left in the situation of having to chase the automatic promotion positions – but were handed the perfect early opportunity to do so.
Slimane caught Jack Taylor on his follow through as he cleared the ball out of his 18-yard area and, after a long pause, referee Anthony Backhouse pointed to the spot from where Philogene sent Kovacevic the wrong way for his 11th goal of the season.
The Norwich goalkeeper then twice denied Hirst, first from a header and then when the striker had been superbly set-up by Philogene.
Mattsson’s 25-yard effort, saved by Walton, was all the home side had to show for their first-half efforts and they were made to pay in the first minute of added time as the Canaries’ defence failed to deal with a long throw and Hirst expertly found the bottom corner of the net.
Slimane forced another stop out of Walton at the start of the second half but despite enjoying a succession of corners and the territorial advantage, Norwich were continually kept at bay by the massed Ipswich defence.
A game which produced 10 yellow cards and a number of flashpoints could have got out of hand with referee Backhouse having to calm emotions and try to keep a lid on a tinderbox atmosphere.
The introduction of former Canary Marcelino Nunez as a substitute by Ipswich only heightened tensions and the Chilean did nothing to help things by earning a yellow card and testing the official’s patience before being hauled off by Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna.
A first win at Carrow Road for Ipswich in 20 years is potentially a huge step for them towards a return to the Premier League while Norwich, despite their recent resurgence under Philippe Clement, were given a glimpse of exactly what is needed to be true promotion challengers.