Huddersfield Town 2-1 Ipswich Town

Nahki Wells has scored 13 goals for Huddersfield this season

Huddersfield Town recorded their first win in eight matches to damage Ipswich Town's Championship play-off bid.

Terriers striker Nahki Wells curled in from the edge of the area early on and James Vaughan doubled the lead on the half-hour mark with a fine header.

On-loan forward Luke Varney converted Jay Tabb's cross to pull a goal back for the visitors just after the break.

However, Ipswich failed to trouble home keeper Alex Smithies again and missed a chance to move into the top six.

Mick McCarthy's side, who had been on a three-game unbeaten run, are now three points outside the play-offs.

Huddersfield went into the game at the John Smith's Stadium without a league win since beating Reading on 24 February.

Ipswich almost took the lead early on when Tabb's header was cleared off the line by Tommy Smith but the home side went ahead on 12 minutes.

Ipswich full-back Zeki Fryers gave the ball away cheaply and Wells capitalised, running at Christophe Berra and bending a left-footed effort past Bartosz Bialkowski.

Ten minutes later the visitors should have equalised when top scorer Daryl Murphy collected Tabb's through ball and rounded Smithies, but his shot lacked weight and Smith was on hand to make another last-ditch clearance.

Huddersfield doubled their lead before half-time when Jacob Butterfield turned and clipped in a cross to former Everton striker Vaughan, who headed back across goal and over Bialkowski.

McCarthy made a double substitution at the break in a bid to improve his side's fortunes and he was rewarded three minutes into the second half when Tabb's dinked cross from the left wing was headed down and in by Varney, who registered his first goal since joining on loan from Blackburn.

Bialkowski made a brilliant double save to deny Vaughan his second goal of the afternoon but Ipswich failed to create a clear-cut opportunity to grab an equaliser.

Huddersfield boss Chris Powell:

"We've got to keep going until it's mathematically certain. We've got two away games and two big games at home before Blackpool on the last day and I hope we carry this on for the next five games.

"It was a first-class performance and arguably the best since I've been manager. To do that after we played less than 48 hours ago (at Sheffield Wednesday) is a testament to my players.

"The energy levels, movement and the way they took the game to Ipswich made me proud to be their manager."

Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy:

"We gave the first goal away and it seemed to dent the confidence of the whole team. Now we have to win our next two home games.

"If I was offered seven points from today and the two home games coming up, I would probably have taken it.

"Now we have to beat both Blackpool and Cardiff. That puts pressure on us but we have to deal with it."

Huddersfield striker Wells (right) curled past Bartosz Bialkowski to open the scoring

Luke Varney (left) scored his first goal for Ipswich to make it 2-1 just after the break

Chris Powell's Huddersfield side have only won two of their last eight games at home