Tommy Smith nodded the winner from close range eight minutes after the break as the Blues came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Portman Road. Ross Wallace had put the Owls in front in the 19th minute but Freddie Sears equalised two minutes later.

Mick McCarthy made two changes to the team which started last week’s 2-2 opening day Championship draw at Brentford with Christophe Berra and Jonathan Douglas replacing Josh Emmanuel, who dropped to the bench, and Kevin Bru, who is out with a hamstring injury.

Berra was in his usual position at the centre of the defence with skipper Luke Chambers returning to right-back.

Left-back Jonas Knudsen and winger Ainsley Maitland-Niles made their home debuts, while Douglas was making his first league start for Town. Former Wednesday midfielder Giles Coke was on the bench.

Wallace saw an early shot deflect wide as the visitors looked the more threatening side early on.

In the fourth minute Marco Matias took the ball inside Chambers from the left before hitting a low shot which struck the post and fell safely for the Blues. Moments later, Douglas was booked for a late tackle midway inside the Town half.

The Blues started to make some impact at the other end of the field and on seven Daryl Murphy turned Maitland-Niles’s corner from the right towards goal but Owls keeper Keiren Westwood saved at his left post.

Town began to dominate, winning a number of corners, and on 11 Murphy curled a strike from the edge of the box that his Ireland team-mate Westwood palmed away.

Fraser went close on 18 after Maitland-Niles crossed deep from the right, the on-loan Bournemouth man’s shot deflecting off Jack Hunt and over. From the resultant corner the ball was flicked onto Sears but the Blues frontman was unable to get in a shot.

Despite the Blues having been on top, Wednesday went ahead in the 19th minute. Matias got the better of Smith on the Owls left and cut the ball across. Bialkowski was only able to get a hand to it and Wallace smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

But the lead lasted only two minutes. Wednesday skipper Glenn Loovens and Jeremy Helan allowed a Chambers long ball to bounce between them and Sears nipped in behind to slam a low shot between Westwood and his near post from a tight angle to claim his first goal of the campaign.

As the game moved towards the half-hour mark there was a lengthy stoppage to allow keeper Westwood - a Town target during Roy Keane’s time in charge - to undergo treatment after clashing with Maitland-Niles after Fraser had sent over a cross from the left. Eventually he was able to continue.

On 31 Cole Skuse made an important saving challenge as Matias looked to get onto Lucas Joao’s clever flick inside the area after the Portuguese forward had broken into the box on the left unchallenged.

Maitland-Niles moved into the centre of the midfield in the closing stages of the half with Sears switching to wide on the right as Town matched the visitors’ five-man midfield.

After the lengthy break for Westwood’s injury the game rather lost its momentum with chances rare at either end in the final 10 minutes of the half.

However, as the fourth official raised his board Sears nutmegged Helan and brought the ball to the edge of the box before hitting a deflected shot which Westwood claimed to his left.

Maitland-Niles moved to the left and Fraser to the centre for the remainder of injury time but the Blues were unable to create any more opportunities before the break.

After Wednesday had started strongly, the Blues got on top and the visitors’ goal came against the run of play. Having got back on terms with a goal the Owls management will have been less than impressed by, Town might well have pushed on but they lost their impetus after the break for Westwood’s injury and only rarely threatened in the final minutes of the half.

The Blues started the second half brightly and on 47 Fraser broke into the box and was bundled over claiming a penalty, however referee James Linington awarded a corner. From the flag-kick, Berra’s far post header was hacked off the line by McGugan.

Sam Hutchinson was booked for a foul on Skuse, before Knudsen was bizarrely penalised for a foul throw in front of the dug-outs, despite having been pulled back by a Wednesday player as he took it, much to the annoyance of manager McCarthy and the home crowd.

Town had looked much the more dangerous side since the restart and in the 53rd minute they went in front.

A deflected cross from Maitland-Niles - now back on the right flank - reached Fraser on the left and the Scotland U21 international brought the ball inside past Joao before crossing. Westwood could only get a hand to it and Smith nodded home his first of the season from a matter of inches.

Six minutes later, Owls keeper Westwood was replaced, gingerly making his way to the touchline evidently still feeling the effects of his earlier knock.

Joe Wildsmith took over in goal, making his Wednesday league debut, and was quickly into the action, saving a Sears effort from inside the area. Maitland-Niles’s subsequent header deflected wide.

Fraser scraped a shot wide after excellent work from Sears on the right in the 65th minute with Town continuing to look threatening going forward.

Three minutes later, Skuse played a freekick across the edge of the area to Sears but the former West Ham man’s shot flew well into the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

In the 70th minute Fraser was yellow-carded for a cynical trip on the breaking Joao, Wednesday’s Alex Lopez joining him in the book for the vehemence of his protests regarding the Blues’ winger’s foul.

Bialkowski palmed Wallace’s cross from the right over in the 74th minute before David McGoldrick and Brett Pitman replaced Fraser and Maitland-Niles, who were warmly applauded off the field. Murphy moved to the left and Sears to the right.

McGoldrick and Sears exchanged passes on the right in the 77th minute, the earlier scorer hitting a shot which hit a defender and looped through to Wildsmith.

Knudsen sent in a long throw from the left which Wednesday defended well as the game moved towards its final scheduled 10 minutes. Pitman was now on the left and Murphy back in the centre.

Douglas was replaced by former Owl Giles Coke in the 87th minute, the ex-Brentford man receiving a rapturous reception from his new fans as he made his way off.

Within a minute Berra saw another header from a corner cleared off the line, this time by Kieran Lee, then Pitman lashed well over after Murphy’s ball from the left had been cleared out to him.

Wednesday put Town under pressure in what was a nervy four minutes of injury time with a number of dangerous balls flying into the box and eventually cleared, in some cases somewhat desperately.

Moments before the final whistle the Owls almost claimed a point when Joao hit a deflected shot from 25 yards but Bialkowski superbly got down to his left to push it around the post.

Overall though, Town had been on top in the second half and Joao’s late shot was Wednesday’s only significant opportunity after the break.

Town started the second half brightly and got their goal and looked the more dangerous side for much of the second half, although the performance perhaps never matched last week’s display at Brentford.

Having claimed four points from their first two Championship games, the Blues find themselves sixth in the table with Burnley at Portman Road on Tuesday.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Douglas (Coke 87), Maitland-Niles (McGoldrick 74), Fraser (Pitman 74), Murphy, Sears. Unused: Gerken, Tabb, Emmanuel, Touré.

Sheffield Wednesday: Westwood (Wildsmith 59), Hunt, Helan, Lees, Loovens (c), Hutchinson (Nuhiu 62), Matias, McGugan (Lee 79), Lopez, Wallace, Joao. Unused: Palmer, Semedo, Sasso, Sougou. Referee: James Linington (Newport Isle-of-Wight). Att: 20,081 (Wednesday: 1,700).

Photo: Action Images

StowTractorBoy added 19:55 - Aug 15 Phew can I really sit through another 45 games like today as we never make it easy for ourselves ? Make no mistake Sheffield Wednesday are a different proposition to last season and we did very well to come back and get the win. Unfortunately our defensive lapses showed up again today with dear old Chambo the culprit but enough has been said about that. Cannot agree that Bart looked shaky in fact one of his better games I thought, and he took the pressure off our defence on three or four occasions taking crosses with confidence in the second half. Sears was outstanding but agree that Murphy was way off the pace and poor old Berra looked whacked after ten minutes but we would be lost without him. The players look as though they are all in it together epitomised by Pitmans display in a defensive role late on. A great 3 points just 44 more games to suffer. Not really but ITFC really do put us through it.

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KiwiTractor added 21:10 - Aug 15 Great result lads. Good to see the team bounce back from conceding first in the last two games and pleasing that the goals are being spread around the team. From the comments on here it sounds like everyone played well, even if Berra and Murph need a few more games under their belt. Maybe Murph to come off the bench against Burnley.....
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buntITFC added 21:35 - Aug 15 Also it was the right decision by MM to put Chambo at RB to tackle the threat from Matias. Emmanuel would have had a tricky game in only his 2nd senior appearance otherwise. Good thinking.
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happybeingblue added 21:36 - Aug 15 impressed today ainsley wow searsey superb fraser dynamic ....skuse and Jd quality ...I have a good feeling ...... not sure why we have to go negative as after making subs allowed wednesday a bit of hope when really we were pushing for 3rd we need to be positive like watford and bournemouth last season.. i bet there back 4 were glad when we made the subs, although they were positive subs i guess... it still felt like a negative tactical move for me today but in mick we trust :) UP THE TOWN

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warktheline added 21:44 - Aug 15 @buntitfc, although many don't see Chambers as a permanent R/B this season, you make a very valid point...much the same was highlighted by irishtim before today's kick-off. The big question is...does McCarthy see Parr as first choice R/B when fit?
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tractorboybig added 21:53 - Aug 15 that man mm nearly lost us 2 points again with his substitution. That pass from coke to the weds striker in the last minute was brilliant, Still it brought a good save from the keeper, its a good job mm dont look at this site after most of last weeks comments he may not have played tommy? not a bad start to the season
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BlueandTruesince82 added 22:05 - Aug 15 How is bringing on 2 strikers and leaving on the other 2 not positive?
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happybeingblue added 22:09 - Aug 15 well what effect did it have on the game do you think
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warktheline added 22:46 - Aug 15 By the lack of posts on here this evening I can only assume McCarthy is, without doubt, satisfying his many doubters!
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prebbs007 added 23:51 - Aug 15 MM. Are you on drugs ? Do you ever learn from your mistakes ? We were lucky to get away with it again today. Played well in parts today when the wingers were on the pitch but last week we lost the lead by changing shape and today we had 4 strikers on the pitch at the end. Really Mick ?? We will have a roller coaster season if we continue with chambers at RB and smith at RCB. But we look like we will create plenty. Murphy was totally off colour today. Touched the ball about 4 times. Not the player of last season far more the one of previous seasons. He can not be first choice on that form. Sears was brilliant and both wingers look dangerous. Please stop taking them off Mick. You should have subbed Murphy instead. Burnley will be a big test on Tuesday let's hope we are up to it and Mick has learnt something. COYB.

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topguy added 00:18 - Aug 16 Well with Hearts rejecting last week our 500k offer for McGhee nice after they gave that figure as their value, But at least talks are continuing so MM doesn't see the RB issue solved prob if they had accepted the bid last week might have played a part, But as for the other player we are in talks for is anybodies guess maybe a winger.
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Tractorboy1985 added 08:00 - Aug 16 A great win after going behind.. Cut shins always a sign of a good day out at PR!! Now mick has the quality players he wants he is able to play thee attractive football we want to see.. In previous seasons he's had his hands tied and worked wonders with what he had! Onto Burnley now which will prove another test.. I'm confident we can come out on top though! Great atmosphere.. Can any one tell me the lyrics of the 'spirit in the sky' song?

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Ipswichbusiness added 09:19 - Aug 16 A good start to the new season, but we have Burnley, Preston and Brighton to come which are all excellent teams. It will be interesting to see where we are at the end of August. Like one or two others I would have preferred to see us playing Emmanuel at right-back and Chambers in the centre, but, credit to him, Smith proved his worth.
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TimmyH added 10:56 - Aug 16 hhhmmm...yes quiet on here, perhaps a lot of people still in 'summer mode' - to me football season doesn't kick off proper until September.
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Bergholtblue added 11:20 - Aug 16 Whilst the referee was about as poor as we have seen done at PR for many a season I was pleased that he booked the two Wednesday players for getting in his face all the time. I see MM has come into criticism for taking off the two wingers and moving sears and Murphy out wide. I have no problem with Sears as his pace and movement was as good as either of the wingers. It was Murphy who was the problem. Murphy did not play many pre season matches. 1. He was given extra time off because of his international duties, and 2) he has been injury prone from the pre season and they were protecting him. But Town were effectively playing with 10 or 10.5 men yesterday. Murphy was totally ineffective. There is the argument that he needs to stay on to get match fit and up to speed but he looked like he had a long way to go. On Tuesday I would replace him with McGoldrick and give Murphy some intensive fitness/speed training. He is not going to finish our top scorer again playing like that.

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Bert added 12:18 - Aug 16 At last we have wingers who can penetrate defences and get past defenders. A good game, attractive to the eye and a season that looks promising. Can't believe we had four strikers on for last 10 minutes but MM's reasoning is sound. Proud to be a ITFC supporter.
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yun added 13:19 - Aug 16 I thought someone got a little flick on the goal attributed to Sears. Anyone else see that?
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Slambo added 18:57 - Aug 16 Tractorboy1985 - goin on up the spirit in the sky, where I wanna go when I die, when I die and they lay me to rest, I want the Ipswich badge upon my chest!
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Slambo added 19:03 - Aug 16 *goin on up TO the spirit in the sky...
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BlueandTruesince82 added 19:54 - Aug 16 4 strikers came on and as with the wingers interchanged as a front 4, this allows for switching up and confusing an opposition that man marks. To me that shows an attacking mentality. Murphy had a couple of decent efforts that another day would have both been goals. Plus 2 off the line. We could have had six buy no Micks not positive. The man radiates positivity, he breeds winning mentalities and at town has done so on a shoe string

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gamezone added 20:11 - Aug 16 @Champstat: Tommy Smith of Ipswich has made 21 clearances this season, more than any other Championship player #ITFC For the fickle ITFC fans information.
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Tractorboy1985 added 20:26 - Aug 16 Thanks slambo.. Next time I can properly join in and not just sing the chorus like I was all the way home on the train to thee annoyance of fellow travellers!
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warktheline added 08:03 - Aug 17 @timmyh, it's a good job not everyone has the mentality that football doesn't start until September !
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BackTheBlues added 09:22 - Aug 17 A couple of points I'd like to pick up on... No need to worry on Murph - he was marked by 2 defenders all game - this is a job well done as allows 2 wingers and the other striker to take on the 2 remaining defenders! Tommy - was probably the best of the centre halves sat and shows his passion when he scored! As for 4 strikers on the pitch - we moaned when we went defensive the week before so fair play to Mick! Looking good! Up the town! Glad to shut them owls down!

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