Daryl Murphy and Aaron Cresswell netted second-half goals as the Blues came behind to beat Yeovil 2-1 at Portman Road. Winger Joel Grant, a player who held talks with Town in the summer, put the visitors ahead with a stunning strike from the edge of the box two minutes before the break, but Murphy scraped home from close range on 53 and Cresswell added the second seven minutes later.
Murphy was back in the Town starting line-up in place of Frank Nouble up front, while skipper Carlos Edwards returned to the side for Paul Anderson, who missed out with a minor groin injury.
Murphy struck the game’s first shot in the opening minute from the edge of the box, but failed to significantly test Wayne Hennessey in the Yeovil goal.
The Irishman hit another shot wide from the right soon afterwards as the Blues started brightly. On six, Ryan Tunnicliffe scuffed a low shot through to Hennessey from the edge of the Glovers’ box.
Aside from a couple of Joel Grant breaks and Christophe Berra dispossessing Andy Williams inside the Town area, the early stages had been all Town. In the 16th minute a long spell of Blues passing ended with David McGoldrick hitting a powerful shot which Hennessey blocked.
Grant saw an 18th minute effort deflect wide for the Glovers, but the game was largely being played in the visitors’ half with the Blues set the challenge of breaking down the Yeovil defences. On 22 Murphy just failed to get his head to a corner coming in from the left.
The Blues continued to push and in the 26th minute McGoldrick tricked his way to the byline on the left but his cross was cleared to Tunnicliffe, whose shot was blocked.
Three minutes later, McGoldrick cut in from the right and hit a low shot across the face of Hennessey’s goal.
Town went close again in the 34th minute when Aaron Cresswell sent Tunnicliffe away down the left and the on-loan Manchester United man cut the ball inside to Murphy. The Irishman took a touch when he should have shot first time, allowing a defender to get across to block his effort on goal.
Soon after, Cresswell struck a couple of efforts, Luke Ayling painfully blocking the first and Hennessey grabbing the second, then at the other end Williams shot at Gerken. Moments later, the Town keeper had to react sharply to clear Luke Chambers’s backpass ahead of the Yeovil striker.
The half had been almost all Town, but as so often happens it was Yeovil who would go in front in the 43rd minute.
The Blues failed to clear from the edge of the box and Grant — a player who might have been wearing a Town shirt had circumstances been different — twisted his way around Cole Skuse, found himself space and smashed a left-foot shot into the top corner of Gerken’s net.
In injury time, Tunnicliffe crossed from the left but Chambers’s knock-down was too far in front of his team-mates.
The half-time scoreline of 1-1 was hardly a fair reflection of a first 45 minutes which the Blues had dominated for the most part, however, without making the most of their possession or opportunities.
But Yeovil had defended stoutly and Grant’s brilliant strike was one which few keepers would have stopped.
Williams hit the second half’s first shot into the sidenetting in the 48th minute, then at the other end Hyam’s 25-yard strike was deflected wide after he had been teed up by Tunnicliffe.
Town got back on terms in the 53rd minute when McGoldrick brought the ball across from the left and played the ball to Edwards, who fed Chambers breaking on the right.
The right-back sent in a deep cross which Skuse headed back across goal towards the far post and Murphy. The Irishman scuffed his initial effort against the post but beat Hennessey with the rebound for his first goal of the season.
McGoldrick wasn’t far from making it 2-1 within a minute when he broke into the area on the right, cut past his defender and hit a shot which fizzed over the bar. It looked like it had taken a deflection but referee Darren Deadman gave a goalkick. On 56 Tunnicliffe shot not far over from 25 yards.
Town went in front on the hour when McGoldrick played the ball to Cresswell to his left just inside the area. The full-back’s left-foot cross was blocked by summer Town trialist Dan Seaborne but the loose ball ran to Cresswell, who curled a right-foot shot past Hennessey for his first goal of the campaign.
On 68 Murphy saw a shot deflect behind, then from the corner Tommy Smith stooped and headed wide.
Town continued to look the more dangerous side and on 76 Hyam hit a low effort which Hennessey blocked and then claimed ahead of the on-rushing Murphy. Two minutes later, Jay Tabb took over from Tunnicliffe on the left of midfield.
On 80, Murphy was just prevented from getting on the end of a Cresswell freekick from the left by a defender’s head, then from the corner Hennessey saved Berra’s header superbly to his left after Smith’s flick. The loose ball fell to McGoldrick but his shot was blocked.
In injury time Joe Ralls had the chance to grab what would have been an undeserved leveller after latching on to a low cross from the right but Gerken was equal to his scraped strike.
McGoldrick shot over for the Blues moments before referee Deadman blew the final whistle to signal a second Town home win in four days.
The Blues were well worth the three points having been the better side throughout if not at the top of their game. Grant’s excellent opener came against the run of play with Town not having made the most of their domination of the match up to then.
After the break, they kept up the pressure and the goals came from Murphy and Cresswell. There was little panic from there and — aside from Ralls’s late opportunity — Mick McCarthy’s men looked more likely to add to their lead than the Glovers were to get back on terms.
Two home wins in the space of a few days, both after going behind, see the Blues climb to a much more healthy-looking 11th in the Championship with 10 points after seven games.
Town: Gerken, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell, Edwards, Skuse, Hyam, Tunnicliffe (Tabb 78), Murphy, McGoldrick. Subs: Loach, Hewitt, Veseli, Wordsworth, Taylor, Nouble.
Yeovil: Hennessey, Ayling, McAllister, Fontaine, Seaborne, Edwards (Davis 71), Upson, Ralls, Grant (Hoskins 78), Hayter (Moore 62), Williams. Subs: Dunn, Dawson, Foley, Ofori-Twumasi. Referee: Darren Deadman (Cambridgeshire). Att: 15,340 (Yeovil: 155).