Tom Lawrence’s excellent ninth goal of the season has given Town a 1-0 half-time lead over third-placed Reading at Portman Road.
Steven Taylor and Emyr Huws were both handed their Town debuts as Mick McCarthy made five changes from the team that lost 3-0 at home to Derby County on Tuesday.
Josh Emmanuel, Toumani Diagouraga, making his first appearance at Portman Road, and David McGoldrick returned to the XI with the Blues again lining up in a 3-5-2 system.
The Royals made two changes from the team which won 1-0 at Birmingham in midweek with debutant Jordon Mutch and Yann Kermorgant, who had been out with a calf injury, coming into the team for Roy Beerens and George Evans.
Town, with Taylor playing in the middle of the central three with skipper Luke Chambers to his right and Christophe Berra to his left, started well and created the game’s first opening in the fourth minute.
Emmanuel beat his man on the right before cutting in and hitting a low shot towards Royals keeper Ali Al-Habsi’s near post but the keeper read it and saved.
While it was a clever effort which showed that the 19-year-old has the self-confidence to take the initiative, the right wing-back probably should have cut the ball back to his waiting team-mates.
On eight Cole Skuse underwent treatment after suffering a leg injury challenging Mutch on eight but carried on.
The Blues continued to look the better side, having most of the ball against a Reading side known for keeping possession for very long spells under Dutch manager Jaap Stam.
In the 11th minute, Lawrence sent in a dangerous freekick from deep on the right which flew just beyond Taylor and dropped just behind Berra, who was unable to get on to the loose ball before it was cleared.
Town went close again in the 20th minute when Huws broke forward and fed Diagouraga on the edge of the area after referee Geoff Eltringham had played a good advantage, Lawrence having been fouled.
The Frenchman might have shot but fed Emmanuel to his right. The wing-back exchanged passes with Huws, crossed and Jonas Knudsen flicked a header wide at the far post.
As Reading prepared to take the goalkick Skuse was replaced by Grant Ward, the Bristolian not having recovered from his earlier knock.
The visitors created their first opening of the game on 23, Garath McCleary sending in a low cross from the left which the sliding John Swift could only divert well over the bar.
Town were playing some good stuff at times with new recruits Huws and Diagouraga both impressing in midfield and Ward having settled into the game quickly.
But on the half hour Reading might have claimed an undeserved lead when a loose ball fell to Kermorgant on the edge of the box but his low shot was easy for Bartosz Bialkowski in the Town goal.
However, most of the game was still being played in the Reading half of the field and in the 34th minute Huws struck a sharp shot from distance which was hit powerfully but too close to Al-Habsi.
Huws made the pass of the game in the 38th minute, playing a 25-yard ball inside a Reading defender for Knudsen to run on to, but Al-Habis had come off his line quickly and blocked as the Dane looked either to shoot or cut across to McGoldrick.
The Irish international chased the loose ball but Al-Habsi reached it first and put it out of play off the Town number 10.
Reading were starting to have more of the ball but on 43 the Blues scored the goal their first-half performance had fully deserved and the goalscorer was no surprise.
Huws brought the ball out of defence to halfway before playing a pass into the path of Lawrence to his right. The on-loan Leicester man brought the ball forward, cut into the area, sold a couple of dummies and lashed a brilliant strike into the net off the underside of the bar.
It was yet another contender in the Welshman’s personal Goal of the Season competition owed a lot to Huws, who had quickly won over the Blues’ support with his first-half display.
Reading immediately looked to get back into it, Liam Kelly shooting over after McCleary’s cross had deflected out to him on the edge of the box, but in injury time the Blues came closer to adding to their lead.
Huws sent over a corner from the right and an unmarked Taylor rose high at the far post to nod down but across the face of goal.
Soon after, referee Eltringham’s whistle was greeted by warm applause from the Town faithful after the Blues’ best 45 minutes at Portman Road in some while.
Town had looked a completely different side to the one which was so comprehensively beaten by Derby on Tuesday and a second goal, had Taylor’s header bounced the other side of the post, wouldn’t have flattered them against a Reading team which had only shown fleeting signs of getting their passing going.
Lawrence’s goal and Huws’s debut were probably the main half-time talking points but Emmanuel and McGoldrick were also among those to have caught the eye, while Taylor had provided much-needed leadership and talking at the back.
Town: Bialkowski, Emmanuel, Taylor, Chambers (c), Berra, Knudsen, Skuse (Ward 21), Diagouraga, Huws, Lawrence, McGoldrick. Subs: Gerken, Bishop, Pitman, Spence, Sears, Moore.
Reading: Al-Habsi, Gunter (c), Obita, Moore, Blackett, Swift, Williams, Kelly, Mutch, McCleary, Kermorgant. Subs: Jaakkola, Evans, Beerens, Meite, Popa, Oxford, Grabban. Referee: Geoff Eltringham (County Durham).