Town’s home game with Huddersfield remains 0-0 at the break with the visitors having come closest to opening the scoring on the half hour when Christophe Berra hooked a Nahki Wells effort off the line.
Town boss Mick McCarthy made three changes from the team which lost 2-0 at Blackburn a fortnight ago with left winger Tommy Oar handed his full league debut.
The Australian international, who was making his first appearance at Portman Road, came in for Larsen Touré, who dropped to the bench, with Ryan Fraser, who missed the game at Ewood Park with an ankle problem, sidelined for two months with a knee injury.
Jonas Knudsen, who was ill at Blackburn, returned at left-back with Jonny Parr also amongst the subs. Up front, Brett Pitman replaced Daryl Murphy alongside Freddie Sears.
Town started brightly, Oar sending in a second minute cross which Pitman was only able to flick on towards Luke Chambers but Huddersfield left-back Jason Davidson cleared ahead of the Blues skipper.
Two minutes later, Ishmael Miller turned Tommy Smith on halfway after Maitland-Niles had lost possession and broke away into the area on the left but Christophe Berra got across to block his shot.
Play quickly moved to the other end and Oar whipped over a low cross from the left which Terriers skipper Mark Hudson cut out ahead of Sears.
With Oar off the field receiving treatment for a nose bleed after an early clash with Huddersfield keeper Jed Steer, Miller again escaped down the visitors’ left flank on nine but rather wasted the opportunity by scraping a poor effort across the face of goal and wide.
The Terriers continued to have the better of it with the Blues giving possession away too easily with the ball rarely sticking up front.
There was an escape on 10 when Knudsen slipped allowing Sean Scannell to get away from him on the right but keeper Dean Gerken easily claimed his cross.
A minute later Chambers got his name in referee Andy Davies’s book for a trip on Harry Bunn with Huddersfield breaking following a Town attack.
Maitland-Niles hit a shot against a Huddersfield defender on the edge of the area on 26, Town’s first strike of the afternoon, albeit one of little consequence.
However, the Blues were starting to see more of the ball but without particularly threatening, while the home crowd were becoming increasingly frustrated by some of referee Davies’s decisions.
On the half hour a contentiously freekick awarded against Maitland-Niles almost led to Huddersfield taking the lead. Miller flicked on a header and Wells, who scored three times in the two games against Town last season, lifted the ball over the advancing Gerken but Berra did superbly to get back to hook off the line.
Cole Skuse showed an impressive turn of pace to get back to muscle Scannell off the ball in the 34th minute having initially slipped, the Terriers again having broken quickly with Town short of numbers at the back. Shortly afterwards the Blues midfielder mis-hit an effort from distance which trickled through to Steer.
Three minutes later, Dean Whitehead, a Town target during his former Sunderland boss Roy Keane’s time in charge at Portman Road, was booked for a foul on Sears on halfway.
With the half in its final five minutes, Oar whipped in two dangerous freekicks from the right which Martin Crainie and then keeper Steer cleared. The Terriers also managed to deal with the latest in a number of Knudsen long throws, albeit at the third attempt.
The game remained goalless at the break with Huddersfield having gone closest to opening the scoring with the Wells chance that Berra hacked off the line.
The visitors had presented the greater threat throughout the half, particularly on the break, with Terriers keeper Steer having had a very quiet first 45 minutes.
Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Skuse, Douglas, Maitland-Niles, Oar, Pitman, Sears. Subs: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Parr, Bru, Touré, McGoldrick, Murphy.
Huddersfield: Steer, Davidson, Cranie, Hudson (c), Lynch, Huws, Whitehead, Scannell, Bunn, Wells, Miller. Subs: Murphy, Smith, Paterson, Vaughan, Carayol, Dempsey, Billing. Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire).