Two David McGoldrick goals in four minutes have given Town a 2-0 lead over Brighton at the break.
With Paul Taylor on loan at Peterborough, boss Mick McCarthy named striker Jack Marriott amongst his subs in an otherwise unchanged 18. Ex-Blues loanee Keith Andrews was in the Seagulls' starting line-up.
Brighton should have gone a goal in front from the first significant chance of the game in the sixth minute.
Will Buckley escaped down the right and cut the ball back from the byline to ex-Norwich midfielder Andrew Crofts, who somehow sent the ball well past Dean Gerken’s right post from 10 yards with the goal gaping.
A minute later, Ryan Tunnicliffe struck Town’s first shot from the left of the area but hit a defender, then Aaron Cresswell found Seagulls’ keeper Tomasz Kuszczak’s arms with a cross from the left.
The Blues gradually got on top and started to dominate possession and in the 20th minute went in front. After a spell off possession on the left, David McGoldrick brought the ball in past two defenders and hit a shot which deflected off Andrews, over Kuszczak and under the bar.
Four minutes later, McGoldrick made it 2-0. Murphy flicked on a long ball and his strike partner cleverly tricked his way past Gordon Greer inside the box, leaving the Albion skipper on his backside, before rifling a low shot across Kuszczak and into the net for his fifth goal of the season, all of them at Portman Road.
Brighton looked to get back into the game, but the Blues’ backline remained resolute. On 33 Greer’s tackle on McGoldrick looped goalwards but Kuszczak was able to claim comfortably.
Town crosses came in from both flanks with Tunnicliffe unlucky not to find a team-mate with a knockdown, then a defender just got in ahead of Murphy from Cresswell’s ball in from the left.
Seagulls’ striker Ashley Barnes shot over from distance on 42 with Town’s lead having rarely looked in any jeopardy. Gerken failed to claim a deep freekick into the box just before the whistle but Cresswell put the ball out of play.
The Blues were applauded off at the break after a comfortable half. While McGoldrick’s first goal was somewhat fortunate, the way he found space to slam home his second showed the striker’s class.
After that, Brighton, who really ought to have been in front via Crofts’s early chance, huffed and puffed but without particularly threatening.
Town: Gerken, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell, Anderson, Hyam, Skuse, Tunnicliffe, Murphy, McGoldrick. Used: Loach, Hewitt, Tabb, Edwards, Wordsworth, Nouble, Marriott.
Brighton: Kuszczak, Ward, Greer, Upson, Calderon, Andrews, Bruno, Crofts, Conway, Buckley, Barnes. Unused: Ankergren, El-Abd, Ince, March, Forster-Caskey, David, LuaLua. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire). Att: