Wolves 1-0 Ipswich Town

Ivan Cavaleiro has scored seven goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers this season

Wolves earned their first win against Ipswich Town since August 2006 as they moved seven points clear at the top of the Championship.

The hosts broke the deadlock just before half-time when Ivan Cavaleiro fired low from the edge of the box.

Kevin Bru almost levelled for Ipswich when his curling effort towards the far corner was saved by John Ruddy.

Wolves could have made it 2-0 late on when Ruben Neves picked out Romain Saiss, but he nodded just wide.

• Re-live EFL Championship action as it happened

Cardiff's defeat by struggling Bolton and Bristol City's draw at QPR meant Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves gave themselves an additional three-point cushion on second place, and they are 10 points clear of third-placed Derby County.

The win over Ipswich extended their unbeaten run to nine games and was their fourth consecutive clean sheet in December.

The Tractor Boys, meanwhile, slipped two places to 10th in the Championship table, three points off the play-off places.

And their defeat meant manager Mick McCarthy's unbeaten managerial run of 13 league games against Wolves - which goes back to his time at Millwall in August 1993 - came to an end.

Wolves were given a scare early on when Diogo Jota, who has scored nine goals for Wanderers this season, received treatment but he was able to continue and provided the cross to set up Cavaleiro's goal.

Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo:

"It was a tough game. Ipswich press hard all over the pitch and it is hard to play against.

"We have seen that teams are trying to adapt to us and we have to find solutions.

"We don't look at the table. We look at how we want to continue and proceed and be persistent in our work. It is a good moment for us so let's enjoy it."

Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy:

"We blinked after 40 minutes again. It was a really good finish but us giving them the opportunity was not what I would expect from my team.

"I am happy enough with the performance, I'm just disappointed with the result.

"If you let your guard down and the opposition have got quality players you will be punished and that is what happened."