Ipswich Town 0-0 Cardiff City

Both sides struggled to find much quality in a tight affair of few scoring opportunities

Ipswich Town's run without a win extended to seven Championship games as Cardiff City were held to a second consecutive drab goalless draw.

Daryl Murphy's first-half header was pushed onto the post by Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall, who also spared Sean Morrison from an own goal.

Cardiff improved after the break but Sammy Ameobi and Craig Noone failed to convert from in front of goal.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles volleyed over the bar as Ipswich struggled to create.

Mick McCarthy's side have now taken just five points from a possible 21, plummeting the early leaders down to 14th in the table.

Cardiff manager Russell Slade will take comfort from a point away from home that extends their unbeaten run to six games, but there was little to suggest his team know how to end an alarming lack of goals.

The Bluebirds have now managed to score just 15 times in 14 games - twice in the last five - and were again short of creativity and bite up front.

They arrived on the back of three consecutive clean sheets, an achievement that owed much to the outstanding form of Marshall.

The Scotland international was again at his best in the first half at Portman Road, pushing Murphy's header on to the post and then reacting quickly to keep out Morrison's attempted clearance.

Another Murphy header was the best Ipswich could muster after the break before Maitland-Niles failed to keep his volley down in the best chance of the closing stages.

Cardiff's improvement saw chances fall to Ameobi and twice to substitute Noone, but both showed a lack of composure to finish from low crosses.

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy:

"Last season, we probably would have won that. But we played well against a good side who were always going to be a tough nut to crack.

"It was always likely to be a goal either way but overall I thought we played well and put in a good performance.

"We are being far more competitive and when we keep a clean sheet, it does give us something to build on rather than conceding a goal and putting added pressure on us."

Cardiff boss Russell Slade:

"I do see it as a very good point as Ipswich is always a difficult place to come - and it has been a very difficult place for Cardiff in the past.

"We are on a good run at the minute, from a defensive point of view, but clearly our problems are at the other end.

"We actually had more shots than Ipswich and we had one or two good chances in the second half but our options up front are limited at the minute."