Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s first senior goal has given the Blues a 1-0 lead over Bolton Wanderers at Portman Road at half-time.
Town boss Mick McCarthy made two changes with Jonas Knudsen, back from his hamstring problem, returning at left-back and Brett Pitman up front, with Jonny Parr and David McGoldrick dropping to the bench.
The Blues, without a win in seven but having won 13 on the trot on Tuesday evenings at Portman Road, began in a 4-4-2 formation with Freddie Sears on the left.
Bolton started the brighter and Dean Gerken was forced into a save in only the third minute, the keeper blocking Max Clayton’s stooping header with his chest on the edge of the six-yard box after good work involving Darren Pratley and Gary Madine.
Three minutes later Kevin Bru struck the Blues’ first shot but curled his shot from distance well wide.
On seven, Ainsley Maitland-Niles was pulled back midway inside the Bolton half on the right by Jose Manuel Casado, who was booked by referee Darren Deadman.
The freekick initially came to nothing but Bru picked up the ball on the right and drilled over a cross which Pitman headed goalwards, but too close to Trotters keeper Ben Amos. A foot or two either side of the former Manchester United man and the Blues might have been celebrating.
But it didn’t take too long for the home crowd to have something to shout about. Town broke quickly in the 13th minute and Murphy sent Maitland-Niles away on the right with a superb pass.
The on-loan Arsenal man cut in and curled a low shot which Amos reached but couldn’t prevent hitting the net. The keeper clearly thought he ought to have done better as the Town players congratulated the 18-year-old on his first senior goal.
Bolton looked to get back on terms but Christophe Berra blocked Liam Feeney’s shot from the right of the area.
Pitman lobbed well wide from a Sears pass on 20, then a minute later the former Bournemouth man was convinced he’d netted Town’s second of the evening.
Keeper Amos collided with one of his defenders and dropped a cross which had come in from the left. Pitman reacted quickly to stab towards goal and made it clear that he felt the ball had crossed the line before Casado hooked away. Referee Deadman and his linesman believed otherwise.
The Blues were by now dominating and on 24 Sears exchanged passes with Pitman and the ex-Colchester man broke into the area on the left but Amos came off the line quickly to block.
There was a big scare for the Blues in the 27th minute when Clayton was sent away on goal and as he approached the edge of the penalty box Knudsen deliberately clipped him.
Referee Deadman immediately went for his yellow card but the official might well have judged it an obvious goalscoring opportunity and dismissed the Danish international.
The freekick was played to David Wheater but his powerful strike was blocked by a diving Luke Chambers.
Bolton had got themselves on top having seeming to be on the ropes immediately following the goal and on 31 the Blues skipper made another important block, this time from Darren Pratley on the left of the box.
The visitors continued to take the game to Town and on 36 Feeney crossed from the right but Clayton just couldn’t get a toe to it and Gerken claimed.
Two minutes later the Blues weren’t far from a second when Knudsen crossed from the left, Pitman nodded back across goal and Sears, by now operating on the right, hooked over.
On 41 Pitman sent Sears away down the left but the goalscorer looked to be hampered by an injury and failed to find Sears with his cross. Moments later, the England U19 international was replaced by Jonathan Douglas.
In the final moments of scheduled time Murphy fed Sears on the left of the area but Amos saved his low strike.
Just before the whistle Wheater bundled the ball wide following a freekick from deep but the linesman’s flag had already.
After starting slowly, the Blues grabbed the lead via Maitland-Niles and then looked likely to go on to add to their goals with Pitman unlucky not to have made it 2-0.
But Bolton came back into it and might well have got back on terms, while Knudsen was perhaps fortunate to avoid a red card. However, by the end of the half the Blues had begun to regain the ascendancy.
Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Bru, Maitland-Niles (Douglas 44), Sears, Murphy, Pitman. Subs: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Parr, Coke, Oar, McGoldrick.
Bolton: Amos, Prince, Dervite, Wheater, Casado, Vela, Spearing, Pratley, Feeney, Clayton, Madine. Subs: Rachubka, Osede, Danns, Heskey, Dobbie, Twardzik, Woolery. Referee: Darren Deadman (Cambridgeshire).