Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich

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Morgan Whittaker rewarded Rob Edwards’ faith as his first Middlesbrough goal helped them return to the top of the Championship after a chaotic 2-1 win over Ipswich.

Edwards publicly backed Whittaker after his replacement was cheered by fans against Preston in September, and he was categorically right.

Boro had Cedric Kipre to thank for the lead before Whittaker’s strike after he turned the ball into his own net less than two minutes after teammate George Hirst was denied from the penalty spot.

The hosts went into the contest looking for their first win in four games and, after a slow start, were left wondering how they had managed to hold on until first-half injury time before taking the lead.

Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer made four incredible saves in the space of five minutes to maintain parity, and he looked set to be rewarded for his exploits when Leif Davis came down the other end and won a penalty following a clumsy challenge from Callum Brittain.

Jeers and sirens rang out across the Riverside Stadium as Hirst advanced and, not to be outdone by Palmer, Sol Brynn leapt to his right to save the penalty to deny the visitors the lead.

Before Riverside stopped celebrating, Kipre’s moment of disaster compounded Ipswich’s woes and gave the home fans even more reason to celebrate, as he was unable to get his legs untangled when Delano Burgzorg fired in a low ball across the penalty area.

Middlesbrough didn’t slow down after the break and Whittaker started and finished the move for his second goal in the 55th minute. The 24-year-old found David Strelec, who may have just gone offside, before continuing his run into the penalty area and shooting after Palmer had pushed away Strelec’s cross.

Dara O’Shea scored a goal for Ipswich with a quarter of an hour remaining, just the second Middlesbrough have conceded at home this season. But it was not enough to spark a comeback as Boro remained stern despite late pressure to hold on.

The result means Middlesbrough end their three-match winless run and, at least until Coventry face Blackburn on Saturday, sees them return to the top of the Championship.

Ipswich, meanwhile, were unable to capitalize on an opportunity to qualify for the play-offs and are now in danger of falling back to the bottom half of the table at the end of the weekend’s matches.

Whittaker: goal of taking a weight off my shoulders after a period of loneliness

that of Middlesbrough Morgan Whittaker speaking with Sky Sports:

“It’s such a relief. Firstly, I want to thank the gaffer for believing in me. And secondly, my close circle. They have been a huge help during this time and I just want to thank them.

“Scoring my first goal is such a weight on my shoulders. Hopefully I can take it in the next game.

“It’s been very, very hard. Very lonely and very hard. That’s why I wanted to thank the people that I thanked because they helped tremendously and I just want to move on from now on.”