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Relive Boxing Day's EFL action as Ipswich draw with Leicester
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Find out moreSummary
- Championship: Deflected Morsy strike earns Ipswich late draw with leaders Leicester
- Championship: Southampton go third with 5-0 win over Swansea
- Championship: Preston beat 10-man Leeds; Big wins for Bristol C and Huddersfield
- League One: Leaders Portsmouth beaten at Bristol Rovers
- League One: Second-placed Peterborough held at home by Reading
- League Two: Leaders Stockport come from 2-0 down to draw at high-flying Barrow
- League Two: Wrexham beat Swindon to go second; Mansfield go third with win over Grimsby
Live Reporting
Alex Hoad and Harry Everett
All times stated are UK
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Latest PostThat's all folks...
#bbcefl
Phew. An incredible 10-hour stint of high-octane EFL action is at a close.
Time to rest up, take on some fluids and recover, because our team, and your teams, will be back on Friday, 29 December (that's three days from today, Tuesday, for all of those who have lost track of the days this week).
There is a full slate of Championship, League One and League Two action to look forward to and it's all in the evening, just to confuse you even further.
Until then, thanks for your company today, and for the last time this year, Merry Christmas from us all!
Boxing Day round-up
#bbcefl
Earlier today Southampton closed the gap on the top two with a thumping 5-0 win over Russell Martin’s former side Swansea.
They climbed to third above Leeds, who were beaten late on at Preston in the lunchtime game.
Fifth-placed West Brom held on to beat Norwich – now only Man Utd have more Boxing Day wins in English football than the Baggies’ 46 - while Sunderland edged Hull by the same 1-0 scoreline to leapfrog the Tigers into the final play-off place.
Bristol City’s eye-catching 4-1 win at Watford saw them climb to eighth with the Hornets, Cardiff, Norwich and Middlesbrough all losing ground.
At the bottom of the pile Rotherham’s third win of the season, against Middlesbrough, their first under Leam Richardson, was not enough to haul them off the bottom but has taken them level on points with Sheffield Wednesday, 2-0 losers at Coventry.
QPR are four points ahead of the pair after the 2-0 derby defeat at Millwall in the early kick-of,f while Stoke are four clear of the drop-zone ahead of their game with Birmingham - and seeking to keep pace with Huddersfield and Millwall, who picked up useful victories this afternoon to give them a cushion over the bottom three.
'We deserved the goal for our performance'
FT: Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna told Sky Sports: "I thought we deserved something from the game, the boys were a credit to themselves.
"The goal comes from a fortunate deflection but we deserved it for the performance.
"We stayed true to our beliefs against a really good team, and doing it that way we learnt a lot from tonight.
"We know the strengths of the teams we are up against and know we have to improve our squad with the resources we may have."
Foxes extend lead in promotion race
FT: Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Despite the late leveller Leicester still have an 11-point lead in the race for automatic promotion after 24 matches.
It was so nearly 13, but they'll be delighted with a six-point cushion at the top after what looks like being perhaps their most testing game of the entire season.
Ipswich's impressive start to the campaign continues and they have a five-point advantage over third place and a 17-point lead in the play-off race.
'We were full value for equaliser'
FT: Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy told Sky Sports: "Great credit to the lads, we kept going. I just kept going really (for the goal) there weren't too many options on.
"Leeds was disappointing but sometimes we hold our hands up, they were better on the day. We don't dwell on a defeat.
Town striker Conor Chaplin told Sky Sports: "We were comfortable, we thought at half-time we had done well, we just had to be more decisive. I think we were full value for our goal.
"We take confidence from this definitely - we know we are a game for anyone on this pitch in front of these fans."
'Morsy drags Ipswich to the finish line'
FT: Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Aaron Paul
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator
Sam Morsy embodies everything about this Ipswich team, he just carries on going, driving from the front, leading by example.
Many may have thought that hope had ebbed away with that Nathan Broadhead slip, but Suffolk's Egyptian King has come up trumps...(with the aid of a deflection).
'That could be massive'
FT: Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Mick Mills
Former Ipswich and England captain on BBC Radio Suffolk
It was a joy to behold when that Sam Morsy hit wrong-footed the Leicester goalkeeper.
Ipswich got more points than Leeds got this afternoon and that could be massive.
'1-1 a better result for Leicester than Ipswich'
FT: Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester
Jannik Vestergaard has left the pitch without talking to anyone, he is absolutely fuming.
But you cannot say you could not feel it.
You need that second to make sure, and if you don't get it you are susceptible.
I'm gutted but not as gutted as I normally would be, that is still a good away performance from Leicester.
1-1 is a better result for Leicester than Ipswich.
FULL-TIME
Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
And breathe....
Leicester never put the game to bed and Ipswich showed they are simply too good to let off the hook.
A big result for both teams in different ways. Ipswich avoid back-to-back defeats under Kieran McKenna for the first time and proved they are not going to exit the promotion race without a fight.
Leicester miss out on a sixth straight win in agonising fashion but continue their momentum towards an immediate return to the top flight.
'If you cannot win it don't lose it'
Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester
This is why I say you need a second goal against a team like Ipswich.
'If you cannot win it now don't lose it' is an old mantra from an old manager of ours.
It would still be a good result to get a 1-1 away at Ipswich.
GOAL: Ipswich 1-1 Leicester
Jannik Vestergaard og
Wow. The Championship.
Sam Morsy's strike from 20 yards takes two massive deflections off Leicester defenders Ricardo Pereira and Jannik Vestergaard and wrongfoots Mads Hermansen, nestling into the corner and sending Portman Road wild.
Ipswich have thrown everything at Leicester in the last 20 minutes and you have to say they probably just about deserve it.
CLOSE!
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Omari Hutchinson blazes down the right and pulls the back from the byline, it drops to Freddie Ladapo but his close-range shot cannons behind off a defender.
Ipswich inexplicably try a short corner and are made to pay as it comes to nought.
INJURY TIME
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Five added minutes for someone to make themselves a hero.
Post update
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Just as it looked like Ipswich had opened up the City defence, Nathan Broadhead slips.
Massimo Luongo and Conor Chaplin combine superbly but instead of trying a shot on his left foot, Broadhead opts to chop back inside and loses his footing.
Was that the opening?
'Heavyweights battering each other'
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Aaron Paul
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator
These are two heavyweights just battering each other, one slip in concentration from the opponent and it will flip, the margins are so fine, and so we have changes...
There's the plug and play Ipswich attack! Kieran McKenna has shuffled his front line as he looks to get something going. The Aussie destroyer Massimo Luongo is also on, just to hoover things up and get Town going when they need it again. The recycler.
Enzo Maresca has also made changes, I love Cesare Casadei, he really is a champagne footballer at this level, highly intelligent.
SUBSTITUTION
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Freddie Ladapo comes off the bench for Ipswich to try to salvage something, anything, from the game.
Kayden Jackson, the first-half sub, is withdrawn.
Surely there'll be a chance. There's always a chance.
Ladapo has eight goals off the bench, what he'd give for number nine right here.
Post update
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Ipswich win themselves a corner but cannot take advantage.
Time is running out and Ipswich fans are staring at the very real possibility of losing back-to-back league games for the first time since November 2021...
...the month before Kieran McKenna took over, funnily enough.
'Get it as close to Norwich as you can'
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester
Leicester defenders - put your foot through the ball and get it as close to Norwich as you can!
SUBSTITUTION
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Omari Hutchinson, Nathan Broadhead and Massimo Luongo are coming on for Ipswich. Nice options for Kieran McKenna to have at his disposal.
Wes Burns, Jack Taylor and Marcus Harness are withdrawn. Plenty more games in a short period of time, of course. It's a balancing act, is football management at this time of year.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gets the hook for Leicester with fit-again Galatasaray loanee Yunus Akgan coming on.
Leicester 'need to kill Ipswich belief'
Ipswich 0-1 Leicester
Matt Piper
Former Foxes winger on BBC Radio Leicester
Ipswich came up from League One last season, remember.
They are serial winners, imagine the belief that they have got, you need to kill it.