Ipswich Town 0-0 Queens Park Rangers: Tractor Boys lose ground with goalless draw

Ipswich Town lost further ground on Leicester City at the top of the Championship as they were held to a goalless draw by QPR at Portman Road.

There was a lengthy delay before the second half could begin as a spectator received treatment following a medical emergency in the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand.

Asmir Begovic produced a fine save to deny Marcus Harness a goal for Ipswich and sub Lyndon Dykes headed wide from six yards at the other end as the home side’s winless run extended to four matches.

The Tractor Boys will start 2024 second in the table, but eight points behind Leicester and only three ahead of third-placed Southampton, with QPR still 22nd, four points from safety.

With the transfer window set to open next week, the strength of Ipswich’s squad was tested as boss Kieran McKenna made six changes to the side that started the 1-1 Boxing Day draw against Leicester.

Skipper Sam Morsy was suspended, Wes Burns missed out because of illness, influential wing-back Leif Davis and striker George Hirst were both injured and the situation was compounded by Nathan Broadhead dropping out just before kick-off.

Rangers boss Marti Cifuentes also opted to shake up his starting XI as they looked to end a run of three successive defeats and one of those promoted from the bench, Sinclair Armstrong, twice forced saves from home keeper Vaclav Hladky in the opening 20 minutes.

At the other end, Harness fed Freddie Ladapo, whose shot was kept out by the legs of Begovic, who later tipped over an Omari Hutchinson effort.

Cook, though, came closest to the opener and following the delayed re-start, both sides struggled to establish any dominance as the game gradually lost momentum.

Following a year marked by promotion from League One in May, Ipswich fell short of a 10th home Championship win before the end of the year as Ladapo headed wide from Cameron Humphreys’ cross and Begovic kept out Harness’ shot.

McKenna may now have to consider looking for reinforcements following an away game at Stoke City on New Year’s Day, when QPR will be at home to Cardiff City.

Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk:

“It wasn’t our night. It wasn’t a great performance or atmosphere.

“It’s important when you’re not at your best – and there were an awful lot of mitigating factors going right up to two minutes before kick-off – not to lose.

“There is a virus in the camp but there was real effort, players digging in, and that’s why we don’t lose many games.

“There was a medical emergency in the stand among our supporters, and all our thoughts are with the family there.”

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes told BBC London:

“My team was really committed, really focused, against a very good side, one of the best in the league.

“We had perhaps less chances than we would like to create, but there were two clear penalties (we weren’t given) – the second was a clear handball.

“I’m not sure the solution for those things is the VAR. That’s another philosophical discussion. We take it, we learn from this, assume those situations happen in a game and be better.

“The reality is we have scored one goal in the last four games and we need to get much better than that.”