Goals from Mads Frøkjær and Ben Whiteman weren’t enough to earn Preston North End a point at Portman Road as Ipswich Town came out 4-2 winners.
Conor Chaplin’s opener was soon cancelled out by Frøkjær for his second goal of the season, but strikes from Brandon Williams and Nathan Broadhead saw the hosts go into half-time with a two-goal lead.
PNE made a triple change at the break and substitute Ben Whiteman pulled one back seven minutes into the second period, but Kayden Jackson made sure the home side took all three points by netting in the 78th minute.
Ryan Lowe made four alterations to the side which was beaten at Leicester City during the week, with Alan Browne, Frøkjær, Ryan Ledson and Will Keane coming into the starting XI.
There was little goalmouth action to talk about in the opening stages of the game, but the hosts took the lead 18 minutes in when a corner-kick routine saw Leif Davis pull the ball back for Chaplin, who swept home from 12 yards.
North End drew level, though, just short of ten minutes later when Robbie Brady’s ball over the top dropped halfway between Frøkjær and Milutin Osmajić, and the ball eventually fell for the former who sent a good first-time finish beyond Vaclav Hladky.
After Freddie Woodman excellently denied George Hirst from a one-v-one situation, the Tractor Boys retook the lead in the 35th minute as Williams cut out a Greg Cunningham pass and the full back ran almost the length of the pitch before sending a low effort in off the post.
Osmajić then had a big chance just a few moments later when a loose ball broke his way, but he couldn’t find the target with a left-footed strike.
PNE fell two goals behind in the first minute of stoppage-time as a cross from the right was won in the air at the back post by Cameron Burgess and then again by Hirst, before it was tapped home by Broadhead.
Woodman had to come up with decent stops to twice deny Wes Burns and a Chaplin effort in first-half stoppage-time.
North End opted to make a triple change at the break and one of those introduced – Whiteman – pulled one back just seven minutes in as Ledson’s cross was cleared to the midfielder, whose shot from just inside the area deflected off a defender and went in off the post.
PNE were playing some good stuff in the period which followed and looked a threat, with Liam Millar among those trying to make things happen, but the leveller wasn’t arriving.
Then, with 12 minutes left, Omari Hutchinson broke away and found an unmarked Jackson in the box, who finished well past Woodman to score his side’s fourth, and the goalkeeper then had to make a save in the third minute of stoppage time to deny Freddie Ladapo.
Ipswich Town line-up: Hladky; Williams, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo (Ladapo, 76); Burns (Jackson, 59), Chaplin (Hutchinson, 59), Broadhead (Harness, 59); Hirst (Hirst, 76). Subs not used: Walton, Clarke, Ball, Scarlett.
PNE line-up: Woodman; Whatmough (Bauer, 26), Lindsay, Cunningham; Potts, Browne (Whiteman, 45), Ledson, Brady (Holmes, 45); Keane, Frøkjær (Woodburn, 70); Osmajić (Millar, 45). Subs not used: Cornell, Stewart, Best, Mawene.
Attendance: 29,018 (826 PNE fans).
Referee: Mr D Webb.