Martyn Waghorn ended his goal drought as Town beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough to extend Mick McCarthy’s remarkable record of never losing at Hillsborough in his 26 years as a manager. Waghorn, who had gone 15 games without a goal prior to the match, turned home Callum Connolly’s header in the 51st minute then, after Wednesday sub Lucas Joao had equalised on 69, netted a superb freekick seven minutes from time to seal back-to-back away wins for the Blues, who are now unbeaten in their last nine at Hillsborough.

Boss McCarthy made two changes from the team which beat Preston 1-0 the weekend before last with Jordan Spence and Luke Hyam both returning to the line-up.

Spence took over from Dominic Iorfa, who dropped to the bench, at right wing-back with Hyam forming a central midfield trio with Cole Skuse, who was playing his 200th game for the Blues, and Callum Connolly.

Mustapha Carayol started behind Martyn Waghorn with Joe Garner, who has been nursing a number of knocks, among the subs.

Wednesday made six changes from the team which lost 4-0 at Bristol City on Saturday. David Jones, former Blue Jordan Rhodes, Jacob Butterfield, Glenn Loovens, Tom Lees, who was making his 150th appearance for the Owls, and George Boyd replaced Joao, Daniel Pudil, Frederico Venancio and Joey Pelupessy, who were all on the bench, and Sean Clare and Jack Stobbs, who were left out of the 18.

In addition to former Blues striker Rhodes, Morgan Fox, a one-time Town academy schoolboy, was in the Owls’ starting line-up.

The game started scruffily with neither side threatening in the opening 10 minutes. However, on 11, Carayol and Knudsen exchanged passes on the Blues left and the Danish international sent over a cross which Owls keeper Joe Wildsmith just about managed to paw away ahead of two Blues players at the far post.

As the game passed the quarter-hour mark Wednesday were having most of the ball but without getting into the final third, while the Blues were looking a threat on the break.

On 16 Carayol turned his man just inside the Owls’ half and burst away at pace before feeding Waghorn out to the right. The former Sunderland man cut in but scuffed his shot wide.

In the 23rd minute Adam Reach screwed a freekick from distance well wide after Blues skipper Chambers had harshly been penalised for a foul on Rhodes.

Two minutes later, Carayol made way having picked up a niggle and Freddie Sears took over.

Soon after, Town suddenly found themselves under pressure and in the 27th minute the Owls should have gone in front.

Adam Webster’s defensive header inadvertently looped up to his right and fell perfectly for Atdhe Nuhiu, whose well-struck volley was somehow blocked at virtually point blank by Bartosz Bialkowski. It was a stop right up there with the Polish keeper’s best for the Blues.

On 33 Rhodes could only flick on Waghorn’s freekick from the right - Boyd having been yellow-carded for the foul - but fortunately for him the ball flew straight to his keeper Wildsmith.

It was Wednesday by now pinned back in their area with a subsequent Waghorn freekick from the left knocked back across goal and then cleared as was a Knudsen cross from the left moments afterwards.

On 38, following another corner, Cameron Carter-Vickers struck a powerful low effort which flew just past Wildsmith’s left post.

As the half moved into its final five minutes, the home side broke swiftly, Jacob Butterfield finding Nuhiu on the left of the area but the Kosovan international’s strike was blocked by Chambers. Soon after, Carter-Vickers picked up a yellow card for a foul.

Just before the break, Sears teed-up Connolly on the edge of the box but the on-loan Everton man’s powerful strike was blocked.

Moments before the whistle, a poor Liam Palmer ball in from the left found only a Town player, prompting boos from the home supporters as their team left the field.

The Blues had shaded a first half of few real chances, although Nuhiu’s volley so brilliantly saved by Bialkowski was the period’s clearest opportunity.

Carayol had shown a glimpse or two of his Preston form prior to being replaced, but had been on the periphery when replaced by Sears, who made more of an impact.

Rhodes, who has now gone four games without scoring against his old club, was replaced ahead of the second half with Joao taking over.

Reach hit the second half’s first effort well wide on 50, then a minute later the Blues took the lead.

Sears crossed deep from the right, Connolly nodded back across goal and Waghorn volleyed home his 11th goal of the season from close range, much to the delight of the small travelling band of Town fans at the other end of the ground.

Having netted, the striker bowled an imaginary cricket ball on the touchline, appealednd then celebrated a wicket.

Town almost make it two in the 55th minute when Sears chased a bouncing ball over the top and lobbed across to Connolly, whose goal-bound header was superbly tipped over by Wildsmith.

As the match reached the hour mark Wednesday started to put the Blues under some pressure, Chambers eventually clearing following a goalmouth scramble in the Town box.

Joao went to ground in the penalty area in the 62nd minute and claimed a penalty but merely appeared to have been outmuscled by Carter-Vickers.

A minute later, Sears seized on a loose backpass but was forced wide as he beat Wildsmith to the ball. He eventually cut back to Knudsen but his shot was blocked and the danger subsided.

The battle between Carter-Vickers and Nuhiu was emerging as one of the half’s highlights and on 67 the Blues defender did well to prevent the Owls striker from getting in a clean shot after Boyd had found him with a chipped cross from the right of the box and the ball screwed wide.

But the Owls weren’t to be denied a goal for too much longer. Joao broke into the box from the left, beating Webster and curled a neat right-foot shot beyond Bialkowski before another Town defender could get across to cover.

Grant Ward replaced Luke Hyam in the 74th minute and the former Spurs man was quickly at the heart of the action. Four minutes after coming on he robbed Reach on the Town right and cut into the box before he was felled as he crossed but referee Oliver Langford waved away the Town protests for a penalty.

The Blues had got on top again, Ward having made an impact from the bench, and in the 83rd minute they took the lead for a second time.

Waghorn was manhandled to the ground by Fox, just to the right of the penalty box following a throw. Waghorn took the freekick himself and hit an inch-perfect shot round the Wednesday wall, beyond the questionably-placed Wildsmith and into the top corner of the net for his second of the game.

He left the 'keeper stranded!

Wonderful winning goal from @MWaghorn_9 last night! ⚽️💥 #itfc pic.twitter.com/3sVPbh5Bi7

— Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) March 7, 2018

As the goalscorer saluted the travelling fans at the opposite end having taken his total for the season to 12, skipper Chambers was booked for kicking the ball into the home fans behind the goal.

Garner took over from his former Rangers team-mate Waghorn for the final scheduled minute and three additional minutes, which the Blues saw out with little fanfare, unlike the corresponding fixture at Portman Road earlier in the season.

It was a well-deserved win for Town, who probably ought to have sealed the win before Joao’s equaliser with Connolly unlucky not to score his goal.

The Blues are now unbeaten in five away from home and their first back-to-back wins since beating Derby away and Nottingham Forest at home as November turned into December sees them move up to 12th, now seven points from the play-offs with a game in hand ahead of home matches against Sheffield United on Saturday and Hull City next Tuesday.

Sheffield Wednesday: Wildsmith, Palmer, Lees, Loovens (c), Fox, Boyd, Jones, Butterfield, Reach, Rhodes (Joao 46), Nuhiu. Unused: Dawson, Pelupessy, Pudil, Preston, Abdi, Venancio.

Town: Bialkowski, Carter-Vickers, Chambers (c), Webster, Spence, Skuse, Connolly, Hyam (Ward 74), Knudsen, Carayol (Sears 25), Waghorn (Garner 89). Unused: M Crowe, Iorfa, Celina, Gleeson. Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands). Att: 22,733.

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Blue_Again added 22:35 - Mar 6 Happy clappers are back in town. Doesn't take a lot for them to forget the dire football on offer the last few seasons and zero progress. Just shows how fickle most people are.
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Taricco_Fan added 22:35 - Mar 6 Justice served for the 2-2 game we should have won down here. Great result and a much-needed confidence-booster for Waghorn. His goalless spell was no reflection of his performance level of late. But being realistic; we took advantage of a team in that's been a complete mess for some time. This was a game we had to win to keep our faint play-off hopes alive. Much tougher tests await. In the end we are a middle-of-the road team headed for a middle-of-the-table finish. Taking the step up required to live with the top six in this division will require serious investment, so if McCarthy is to stay, Evans needs to properly back him.

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BrandestonBlue added 22:36 - Mar 6 Lots of ifs, buts and maybes in a season but if we had just held onto leads at Norwich and Sheffield Wed at home we would be 3 Pts off 6th with a game in hand! Great win - three centre halves working well but can they make it work at home - let's hope so ! No luck with injuries but immense character in the team - the team bus must be buzzing COYB!
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TractorBeezer added 22:37 - Mar 6 Well done lads, MM, TC and travelling supporters. It wasn't too pretty but everyone worked very hard . Back 3 (and 5) plus Bart solid as well as mid 3. Great contributions from Waggy and Freddy...what a free kick! TThere were some spells of hoofball but will forgive that! Hope that Muzzy is ok. I think that the next two home games are winnable. Let's have some positive support. UTTBs

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blueboy1981 added 22:38 - Mar 6 ....... hats off to you travelling fans once again - the best in the business.
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Currie10 added 22:47 - Mar 6 Bore off blue_again enjoy the win. If we'd lost we'd be on page 7 by now. People LOVE to keyboard bash when we lose. When we DARE win............
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Bert added 22:57 - Mar 6 I was not too keen on MM adopting three strung across the back but it is working of sorts. If our early season goal rush has dried up then adding strength at the back is necessary. Skuse is a good blocker and we need that but Huws when back must accompany Connolly should we retain him. Celina is a luxury at times if Waghorn, Garner and Mustapha are at their game. Any win from home is a good win and seeing Norwich drop more points even better. Evans has a real dilemma on his hands and if he listens to other managers we could yet be stuck with him. Hope not but I can see it happening unless MM himself has had enough and departs on his terms and at a time of his choosing.I would wish him well.

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carsey added 23:05 - Mar 6 Good result 3 points away from home so got to be happy tonight. What I now want to see is a more attacking line up at home on Saturday. Sheffield Utd will never be expecting it and we might just catch them out. It will certainly be more entertaining.
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KillarneyBlue added 23:26 - Mar 6 Let's all get behind the boys on Saturday.
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runningout added 23:36 - Mar 6 Good win. Frustrating at times as we looked on par with a poor Wednesday side. Carayol didn't last long, not sure if he was injured or a plan that didn't work. Waghorn looked above this league tonight and Bart's save was brilliant. Skuse (our next coach in time) I thought played well, as did Chambers. Webster had a iffy game. Knudsen was shabby first half, as were most of team, but a lot better in the second. A shame but we almost shock ourselves when we put a few good passes together.. Said before that we are three players short of a very good side

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algarvefan added 23:51 - Mar 6 I have said it before and I'll say it again, with the resources MM has available to him it's nothing short of a miracle that we are still in the is league. MM is I grant you stubborn and is not on any charm offensive wit the fans, if this is the result of a few fans getting on his back, keep it going lads, we do better when he's angry. We have been incredibly unlucky losing quality players to long term injuries this season, it happens, but I firmly believe we would be a top 6 side now had we kept those players fit. Now we could be in with a shout again, the style of football would not be my preferred choice, but hey MM I take my hat off to you, I'd love you to pull promotion off so you could really tell the minority of fans where to get off!!

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Surco72 added 00:16 - Mar 7 As stated earlier it is a great result but that still does not mean MM got it totally right, if we had chosen a more attacking side we could have beaten a very poor Sheffield Weds by a lot as others have . The tactics got 3 points today but have cost us 3 points a lot in previous games Burton ? And 3 at the back has been called for, for over two seasons with our squad , working now a Mick ?

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blue75 added 04:06 - Mar 7 Good win last night! Away form is magnificent can't fault results away from I won't comment on performances as I rarely go away these days. I get the McCarthy supporters crowing about this result and previous away results, but the majority only watch home games, having to watch us sit back and try to hold on to a point at home is not acceptable away is not at home do that against the Naaridge of the north Saturday and the quiet atmosphere at home will continue!! We want to be excited at games see something that makes you proud. Everyone should be happy with the 3 points tonight let's not single out people for having different opinions on the manager.

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bobble added 05:53 - Mar 7 its all pointless if we lose the next 2 at home...but we live in hope
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Steelmonkey added 07:57 - Mar 7 A good three points, and it's good to see Waghorn back on form. But let's not get to carried away against a poor Wednesday side that's struggling to find a point, Saturdays game against the other side of this city will be a much harder test.
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grumpyoldman added 08:13 - Mar 7 Yes it's nice to win, but happy clappers remember we are in a league which includes all matches played, so don't go overboard about a couple of wins. Even us so called supporters do not want us to lose any games. I gradually got bored with the style of play employed by MM, I want Ipswich to be successful but have no faith in him taking us anywhere.
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carlo88 added 08:35 - Mar 7 God those new shirts are horrific aren't they.
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Gcon added 08:35 - Mar 7 It's not surprising the away form is better than at home. The atmosphere is pretty toxic. Get behind your team. Too many people there looking for a chance to boo - Those people need to accept responsibility for the poor home form. Don't bother showing up if you can't get behind the team.
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hulltractor added 08:39 - Mar 7 I was at the match yesterday and it was yet another typical MM Selection and style of play. We won, that was great but the hoof ball was there for all to see. The first half was dire. Two poor sides cancelling each other out. Second half was an improvement of sorts, Town definitely improved and never really looked like losing although after the equaliser there were a couple of nervy moments but the Owls seemed to switch off and looked very nervy in front of their home support. How Hyam stayed on as long as he did is beyond me, it was a poor night for him. Ward did well when he came on, he at least went at the full backs and looked a threat. Waggy was star of the show with his two goals. The free-kick was special it has to be said. Overall a shaky performance ending in a pleasing result. The lads looked really pumped afterwards which was good to see, roll on stuffing the Tigers on Saturday. Hopefully a more attacking line up will be chosen, Ward deserves a start. Prediction : Town 2-1 Hull

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HarrisonCWhite added 08:47 - Mar 7 Sorry those getting over excited, it's either 8 points from 15 or 11 points from 18. So still (just) below the 2 points agame form needed for a promotion and it's gets much worse as you go further back. For me I want to enjoy watching Ipswich and be proud of the way the club goes about it's business. Currently this isn't the case on either front, it's not all Micks fault it comes from the top down.

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midastouch added 09:43 - Mar 7 I rarely back Ipswich as I don't want to jinx the result but I did last night. When we were 1 up I was considering cashing out just moments before Wednesday equalised and when we let the lead slip I was spitting feathers for being indecisive. When we went 1-2 up oh ye of little faith cashed straight out although it still made for a decent profit so very pleased indeed! Great to see Waghorn get back to scoring again. And when Sears came on I was cursing the radio but sounded like he did well so fair play. If only he could score but at least he didn't go missing and contributed to the win with his all round play and effort. I went to the home game against Wed and was left feeling gutted at the end with their late equaliser and feared it might happen again last night but they kept things tight and we left with all 3 points. Can't be bad! I'm going to keep out of the Mick in or out debate tonight as it would be ungrateful to be knocking anybody that just made me a few quid! I'll leave that argument for another day! Really hope we can finish the season higher than Norwich still, COYB!!!

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dirtydingusmagee added 10:07 - Mar 7 Only listened, Owls were poor by all accounts ,but a win is win. Pleased that Wags has found the net again .Don't see any real hope of playoffs ,but would be nice to see us run the season down with wins, not losses or bore draws.
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hulltractor added 10:17 - Mar 7 Just noticed my earlier error, Sheff UTD Saturday not Hull, anyway my prediction for Tuesday night against the Tigers stands and I suspect we will go defensive again against UTD with it ending up a 1-1 draw.
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dubblue added 11:11 - Mar 7 very happy with our away form - the defensive selection seems to be working! Great to see Waggy back scoring, even better if it motivates Garner to try and catch-up with his former Rangers colleague as town's top scorer this season. Only negative was the unnecessary booking picked up by Chambers or was the referee being exceptionally picky?
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BlueMachines added 13:46 - Mar 7 Chicken or egg scenario GCON. Which came first? A point that argued. The difference with your point is the terrible negative football came before any negativity among the crowd. I can assure you. No argument logical argument against that.
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