Royle's boys foil 10-man Reading
When Joe Royle took over at Portman Road in October, more than a few people voiced doubt over the wisdom of appointing a manager thought to be from a different football era.
Twentieth place in the First Division had many in Suffolk fearing a second successive relegation which could have proved a death knell for the financially struggling club.
But only two points separate Ipswich from sixth-placed Wolves and this, their seventh game unbeaten, underlined the progress Royle has made since he joined the club.
This victory over Reading, who entertained fleeting hopes of catching Leicester in second place before last night's reverse, suggests Ipswich's exile from the Premiership may be a short one.
"If you'd promised us this when we were fourth bottom, we would have taken two points off the play-offs with eight games to go," said Royle. "Everyone wrote us off three weeks ago but we've closed the gap and are now right back in it."
Ipswich went ahead after only 37 seconds when Martijn Reuser floated a free-kick into the area and Thomas Gaardsoe rose above Marcus Hahnemann to head into an empty net.
Three times in the opening quarter of an hour Reading threatened to equalise, and if West Ham had agreed to let Paolo Di Canio join the Royals on Monday they might have been out of sight way before Nicky Forster equalised.
Andy Hughes and Forster both missed chances before Reading pulled level in the 16th minute. Hughes crossed for Forster to score his 12th goal of the season, albeit at the second attempt after Andy Marshall had blocked his first shot.
The Republic of Ireland international Matt Holland, who scored the winner against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, put Ipswich back into the lead after half an hour, his deceptive 35-yard shot swerving past Hahnemann.
Reading's hopes of levelling were dashed when Adi Viveash was sent off 10 minutes into the second half after raising his hands as he ran into Gaardsoe. "Adi has not got a malicious bone in his body and his momentum carried him through," said his manager Alan Pardew afterwards.
Even when Reading rallied, Marshall calmed fraying nerves and Jim Magilton added a third to seal victory, but Pardew remains convinced both sides will be involved in the end-of-season lottery.
"Come May, we may be playing Ipswich again," he added. "We need to win three or four more games and that's all that matters. We hope we're going to be in there and I'm sure Ipswich will be."