Ipswich down Leicester

Sixto Peralta doubles Ipswich's lead on 55 minutes

Ipswich 2-0 Leicester
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Ipswich moved off the bottom of the Premiership after a well-deserved victory over Leicester at Portman Road.

Second-half goals from Marcus Bent - his first in Ipswich colours - and Sixto Peralta handed George Burley's side to only their third victory of the season.

We still have a long, hard road to make us safe

Ipswich manager George Burley

But the defeat leaves Leicester rooted to the bottom of the table after their sixth away defeat of the campaign.

The visitors had started brightly with James Scrowcroft, making his first return to Portman Road since his £3m summer move to Leicester, concocting the first chance of the match on six minutes.

  Key moments

35 mins: Bent misses gilt-edged chance for Ipswich

48 mins: Bent header puts Town 1-0 up

55 mins: Sixto Peralta doubles the home side's lead

His low drive was turned away by Matteo Sereni, and the resulting corner saw Muzzy Izzet's 18-yard strike go just wide.

In a half of precious few chances, the home side should have gone into the interval one goal to the good had Marcus Bent converted a gilt-edged chance on 35 minutes.

Finidi George, Ipswich's most potent attacking option, found Bent, who had beaten his marker inside the Leicester box.

But the striker failed to connect properly with the Nigerian's cross, handing Ian Walker the opportunity to clear the ball from danger.

However, Bent made amends for his earlier mistake three minutes after the interval when he headed his first goal since his £3m move from Blackburn.

Martijn Reuser dispossessed Lee Marshall before crossing for Bent, who headed past Walker inside the six-yard box.

Marcus Bent (left) scored his first for Ipswich

Ipswich continued to press forward and their attacking intentions were rewarded when Sixto Peralta doubled their lead seven minutes later.

The Argentine latched onto another good ball from Reuser to beat the onrushing Walker.

If I was a young manager, I might have beaten half the team up tonight - with a baseball bat.

Leicester manager Dave Bassett

Leicester manager Dave Bassett made a bold attempt to pull a goal back with a triple substitution minutes later.

But the move backfired as Ipswich exploited space created by his side as they pushed forward in search for an unlikely goal.

And the home side held on comfortably for three valuable points for their second consecutive victory after their 2-1 win over Spurs on Saturday.

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Ipswich: Sereni, Makin, Bramble, Venus, Hreidarsson, George (Wright 62), Holland, Peralta (Magilton 85), Reuser, Armstrong (Naylor 75), Marcus Bent.
Subs Not Used: Branagan, Clapham.
Goals: Marcus Bent 48, Peralta 55.

Leicester: Walker, Marshall (Impey 66), Sinclair, Elliott, Stewart (Davidson 66), Savage, Izzet, Oakes, Rogers (Akinbiyi 58), Deane, Scowcroft.
Subs Not Used: Flowers, Wise.
Booked: Izzet, Sinclair.

Attendance: 24,403.

Referee: N Barry (Scunthorpe).