For the second week running a Ben Pringle goal was the difference between the sides as the Blues beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 at Portman Road. The on-loan Fulham man, the scorer of the only goal at Huddersfield last week, turned the winner home off the post in the 63rd minute after good work from Kevin Foley.
Daryl Murphy and Jonathan Douglas missed out due to injury with Luke Hyam and Kevin Bru coming into the starting line-up, while Andre Dozzell, aged 16 years and 308 days, was on the bench for the first time.
The Blues started in a 4-4-2 formation with Bru on the right and Freddie Sears and Brett Pitman up front.
Forest threatened first in the third minute, Bialkowski doing well to get down to his left to push Nelson Oliveira’s header wide from Ben Osborn’s left-wing cross. From David Vaughan flag-kick, Gary Gardner headed straight at Bialkowski.
Dexter Blackstock picked up the game’s first yellow card in the seventh minute for catching Christophe Berra with an arm.
On eight, Sears broke away through the middle and found Pitman but Forest keeper Dorus de Vries was able to claim his low shot from a tight angle on the left.
Town were taking control of the game and in the 12th minute a long spell of Blues’ passing in the Forest half ended with Bru threading in Sears on the right of the area and de Vries pawing his shot wide at his near post.
But Forest came back into it and in the 18th minute Bialkowski made another terrific save when Pitman surrendered possession midway inside the Blues half with only Berra and Tommy Smith back.
Blackstock fed Oliveira and the on-loan Benfica man curled a shot towards the left corner of the Polish keeper’s goal, but the Town number 33 got across superbly to push the ball around the post.
Both sides had had chances in an entertaining first quarter of the game which had swung one way and then the other and on 22 Sears brought the ball forward before hitting a shot which de Vries palmed away.
Ryan Mendes was sent away on the right of the Town area on 24 but Berra got across to divert the ball behind. From the corner taken by Vaughan, the visitors went close to going in front when skipper Matt Mills powered a header off the top of the bar.
Town threatened on 28 when de Vries punched away Bru’s curling right-wing cross ahead of Pitman and the ball fell to Foley 20 yards out, but his shot went well over. Soon after, Pitman sent over a low cross from the right but the Forest keeper was able to claim comfortably.
Berra reached a high ball before De Vries virtually on the goal-line on 33 following a corner but the keeper was able to claim before the Scotland international could get in a second header.
There was a scare for the Blues in the 36th minute when a ball forward sent Gardner through on goal but Berra did well to get across to dispossess the on-loan Villa man."
What had been an entertaining half lost its momentum somewhat in a quiet final 10 minutes but just before the fourth official indicated an additional minute, Forest should have gone in front. Osborn crossed from the left and Gardner headed over from a few feet out when it seemed easier to hit the target.
Seconds later, the referee’s whistle ended what had been a well-contested half in which both sides had had opportunities, although with the visitors having had the better of the chances, and in which the again excellent Bialkowski had been the busier keeper.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles replaced Bru ahead of the second half with the on-loan Arsenal youngster a more natural wideman than the Mauritius international.
Three minutes after the restart, Pitman required treatment after he was caught late by Eric Lichaj, much to annoyance of the rest of the Town players. Referee Andy Woolmer gave a freekick but kept his cards in his pocket.
Town started to dominate, passing the ball around confidently and winning it back whenever they lost it. However, without creating an opening.
On 58 Foley shot over from distance, then a minute later Osborn scraped a low shot not too far wide of Bialkowski’s right post.
On the hour mark Michael Mancienne, who played for Town boss Mick McCarthy at Wolves, was booked for a foul on Sears midway inside the Forest half. Pringle’s freekick came to nothing.
A minute later, Oliveira smashed a shot across the face of goal with the visitors now looking more threatening.
But on 63 the Blues went in front. Foley picked up a headed clearance and took it into the area on the left and found Pitman. The striker returned it to the midfielder, who played a low ball across to Pringle, who turned a shot past de Vries and into the net off the post to claim his second Town goal and his first at Portman Road.
The visitors looked to hit back and on 67 Mendes broke away on the right but hit his shot from too tight an angle and Bialkowski claimed with the ball having already gone out of play.
In the 69th minute Pitman forced de Vries to bat away a powerful strike from the right with the loose ball just evading Hyam.
Two minutes later, the former Bournemouth man saw another strike deflect into de Vries’s arms after the Blues had cut out a Forest counter-attack and launched a break of their own.
On 73 Hyam and Oliveira clashed as they tussled for the ball, provoking a brief melee on halfway. Referee Woolmer booked both main protagonists.
Maitland-Niles shot over from distance, before Forest made a 77th minute triple substitution with Jorge Grant, Deimantas Petravicius and Chris Cohen replacing Oliveira, Mendes and Bojan Jokic.
Four minutes after coming on Grant was booked for catching Foley with a high boot as the pair challenged for a bouncing ball in the Town area following a corner.
Town had held on to their lead with relative comfort as the game moved into four minutes of injury time in which Luke Varney replaced Pitman and then Paul Digby took over from goalscorer Pringle.
Forest tried to launch a late push for an equaliser in the closing couple of minutes but despite having a lot of the ball never seriously threatened a determined Blues backline and referee Woolmer’s whistle confirmed that the three points were Town’s.
After a first half in which Forest had the better chances, the Blues were much the better side after the break.
With no Murphy to hit early with high balls, Town were perhaps forced to keep the ball more than has been the case and dominated possession for long spells in the second half.
They worked hard to create an opening, which eventually came with the excellent Foley playing a vital role in making the chance for Pringle, who once again finished clinically when his chance came.
The result sees the Blues stay ninth in the table but now just a point off the top six - plus goal difference, although with a game in hand - with Sheffield Wednesday having lost 1-0 at home to Rotherham. Town next travel to bottom-placed Bolton on Tuesday.
Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Foley, Hyam, Bru (Maitland-Niles 46), Pringle (Digby, 90), Pitman (Varney 90), Sears. Unused: Gerken, Tabb, Dozzell, Touré.
Forest: De Vries, Lichaj, Mancienne, Mills (c), Jokic (Cohen 77), Mendes (Petravicius 77), Gardner, Vaughan, Osborn, Oliveira (Grant 77), Blackstock. Unused: Evtimov, Wilson, O'Grady, Tesche. Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire). Att: 20,658 (Forest: 1,088).