Preston North End 3-2 Ipswich Town: Will Keane double leads Lilywhites to victory
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Ipswich's George Edmundson puts through his own net as he challenges Emil Riis
Ipswich Town's hopes of automatic promotion suffered another setback as their former striker Will Keane scored twice in a second successive home win for Preston North End.
A week on from their shock FA Cup loss to non-league Maidstone United, Town fell behind to Keane's deflected shot and George Edmundson's own goal inside the first eight minutes.
Keane added his second before the break, only the third time this season that Preston had scored three goals in a league game, but the introduction of deadline-day signing Kieffer Moore breathed life into Ipswich for the second half.
Wales international Moore headed in Leif Davis's cross and then added another from close range in a frantic finish as Preston hung on for three points.
Ipswich dropped to fourth, two points behind Southampton in second, with Preston moving up two places to 10th after what was only their sixth win in 23 games, following six in seven at the start of the campaign.
The visitors retained only three players who began last weekend's cup tie in their starting XI, with Moore and fellow new signing Ali Al-Hamadi on the bench.
Liam Millar flashed an early shot just wide for Preston and they took the lead when Keane tried his luck from 25 yards and although a big deflection took much of the pace off the ball, Vaclav Hladky was wrongfooted and could not prevent it crossing the line.
Ipswich's misfortune was compounded only three minutes later when Keane tried to play in Emil Riis and centre-back Edmundson's challenge only resulted in him putting the ball past Hladky for Preston's second goal.
Stunned by the double setback, Ipswich enjoyed plenty of possession as they looked to try and find a way back into the game, but they lacked an incisive edge in the final third. They were punished again before the break as Riis closed down Hladky as he prepared to clear and the ball ran to Keane, who stroked it home.
Having failed to test home keeper Freddie Woodman in the first half, Town boss Kieran McKenna sent on Moore - back at the club on loan from Bournemouth - for his second debut, seven years after his first at Huddersfield back in January 2017, a game which ended in a 2-0 defeat.
The 6ft 5in striker did not manage a goal in that first spell with the Tractor Boys but after Davis struck the woodwork when he tried to sneak a free-kick in at the near post, the wing-back then provided a perfectly weighted chip to the far post for Moore to score.
He kept a cool head for his second, slotting home after two point-blank Woodman saves from Al-Hamadi, and the keeper then denied Moore a hat-trick from Omari Hutchinson's cross as the game went into added time.
Kieffer Moore's double for Ipswich followed two Premier League goals for Bournemouth this season
Ipswich have now won only one of their past eight league matches and will face play-off hopefuls West Brom at Portman Road next Saturday, with Preston - who are only three points outside the top six - away to Cardiff City.
Preston boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"I thought the lads were fantastic from start to finish in everything they did.
"First half was great because we scored goals and went in 3-0 but you always know a good team like Ipswich are going to come out and fight, and they did.
"Bringing on a player like Kieffer Moore can cause you problems, they were a little bit more direct, but I thought our lads dealt with large parts of it very well.
"Obviously, the goals [conceded] were disappointing, but it doesn't really matter because we've got three points."
Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk:
"When you concede two unfortunate goals in the first eight or nine minutes, it's the worst situation it could be because Preston can then defend their box with a lot of bodies.
"Our play in the final third wasn't at the level we want it to be but that was exaggerated by the scoreline which dictated the tone and feel of the game.
"In the second half, we produced a really good performance which deserved to get something out of the game.
"His [Moore] impact was there for all to see, he was excellent. I don't think it would have been right [to start him], he hasn't even trained with the group."