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Cedric Kipre runs away after heading Ipswich in front Ipswich swept aside basement boys Sheffield Wednesday to strengthen their bid to make a swift return to the Premier League. Cedric Kipre headed them in front to settle the home fans' nerves at Portman Road before Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke scored to lift Kieran Mc Kenna's men up to third place. The Tractor Boys have moved to within five points of second-placed Middlesbrough in the race for automatic promotion. Liam Cooper pulled a goal back for Wednesday, but Henrik Pedersen's side are now 30 points below the Championship survival line following two separate points deductions. Ten-man Coventry hold on for point at Southampton Boro miss chance to close gap after Bristol City loss Keane leveller denies Norwich away win Owls fans are desperate for some pre-Christmas cheer, with former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley among those bidding to bring the club out of administration. Ipswich nearly gifted Wednesday the lead when Dara O'Shea was robbed by Jamal Lowe and his shot was cleared off the line by Kipre. The home supporters were not happy and their mood nearly worsened when Liam Palmer lobbed the ball just over the bar from Christian Walton's poor throw-out. Ipswich rallied and Marcelino Nunez headed just wide after Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles saved Jens Cajuste's shot and Philogene saw a scissors kick hit the post. The Tractor Boys made the breakthrough on 33 minutes when Kipre rose to head home Leif Davis' corner from close range to the relief of the home crowd. Ivan Azon, who replaced the injured George Hirst early on, glanced a header wide before Philogene made it 2-0 on the hour. Cajuste drove from deep and found Nunez, who slipped the ball to Philogene at the near post and he scored his eighth goal of the season, all at Portman Road. To their credit, Wednesday kept going and Cooper rifled home when Ipswich failed to clear Barry Bannan's free-kick. But Ipswich bagged their third three minutes from time when Azor Matusiwa intercepted the ball and Clarke applied the finish. It might have been four, only for Charles and Gabriel Otegbayo combined to deny Azon in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Ipswich manager Kieran Mc Kenna told BBC Radio Suffolk: "It's good to get the win, it's good to get the three points. The first half, we weren't great. It was a tense performance. We got the first goal from a set-play, but we knew at half-time we had to play better and I thought for most of the second half we did that. "It's another lesson in how the game is and it's not over at 2-0. We eased off for a few moments, they got their goal from a set-play and the game was alive again. "It was a bit nervy, but then we got the third goal and it was over. "There are lots of lessons to learn in there and there were bits where we played well, bits where we didn't, bits we managed and bits we didn't manage so well. There's lots to take from it. We'll take the lessons and move on. " This video can not be played Kieran Mc Kenna post Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pederson told BBC Radio Sheffield: "The big picture, I'm so very, very proud of how we attacked the game. I thought our first half was one of the best halves we have played. "We had fantastic energy, fantastic intensity in our pressing. We spoke earlier in the week about how we want to be a team that presses high up the pitch and I thought we combined intensity with compactness. I'm really, really proud. "We created chances and it was positive. Of course, they had the ball a lot, but we worked hard for each other and that was really, really good. Yeah, I'm proud of the performance. " This video can not be played Henrik Pedersen: 'So proud of how we attacked the game' After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 20th December 2025 at 17: 03 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Kieran Mc Kenna Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Henrik Pedersen Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Manager: Kieran Mc Kenna Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Henrik Pedersen Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Ipswich did the league double over Sheffield Wednesday when they last faced in 2023-24, as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 11 against the Owls (D5 L4). Sheffield Wednesday failed to score in both meetings with Ipswich in 2023-24, having found the net in 18 in a row against them before this. They’ve never gone three without a goal against the Tractor Boys before. Ipswich have won 22 points in home matches in the Championship this season, with only Coventry (26) and Middlesbrough (23) winning more. The Tractor Boys have only conceded one goal across the most recent five on home soil in the league, keeping four clean sheets. Sheffield Wednesday have only won one of their last 13 away matches in the Championship (D7 L5), with that lone victory in this run coming at Portsmouth back in September (2-0). Ipswich’s Marcelino Núñez has been directly involved in eight goals in the Championship this season (3 goals, 5 assists), only once having more goal involvements in a single campaign (10 for Norwich in 2024-25). Indeed, his five assists are already his most in a Championship season to date. Match ends, Ipswich Town 3, Sheffield Wednesday 1. Second Half ends, Ipswich Town 3, Sheffield Wednesday 1. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match because of an injury Gabriel Otegbayo (Sheffield Wednesday). Attempt saved. Iván Azón (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday). Assisted by Kasey Mc Ateer. Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Harry Amass. Foul by Iván Azón (Ipswich Town). Liam Cooper (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match because of an injury George Brown (Sheffield Wednesday). Attempt saved. Kasey Mc Ateer (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday). Assisted by Iván Azón. Fourth official has announced 9 minutes of added time. Attempt saved. Kasey Mc Ateer (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday). Assisted by Jack Clarke. Substitution, Ipswich Town. Ashley Young replaces Marcelino Núñez. Goal! Ipswich Town 3, Sheffield Wednesday 1. Jack Clarke (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Azor Matusiwa following a fast break. Darnell Furlong (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by George Brown (Sheffield Wednesday). Foul by Marcelino Núñez (Ipswich Town). Liam Cooper (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Iké Ugbo replaces Bailey Cadamarteri. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.