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Middlesbrough regain Championship top spot with victory Boro keeper Brynn saves Ipswich striker Hirst's penalty late in first half Kipre own goal puts hosts ahead soon after, Whittaker doubles lead after break O'Shea header gives Ipswich hope but Boro hold out Glenn Speller and Joe Boon FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich The Championship is back and how? I think we can all agree tonight had everything that is good about this division and what makes it so exciting. You can read all about that win for Middlesbrough by clicking on the 'Report' tab at the top of the page and there's lots more on our dedicated Championship page. Thanks for joining us tonight and for getting in touch, we're back from midday tomorrow to see what else this crazy old EFL has to offer. Sleep well! FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Ipswich Town Ipswich's five-game unbeaten run came to an end on Teesside tonight and boss Kieran Mc Kenna has been talking to BBC Radio Suffolk: "We didn't do enough to win and made too many mistakes. "We could have got the first goal, not just with the penalty but with some other chances before that. "The two bits of the game I'm not happy with are the end of the first half when we allowed it to get crazy and then the start of the second half where the second goal we gave away just wasn't good enough. "To come away to a difficult place like this with them in good form on a Friday night with the crowd behind them you can't make as many mistakes as we did, and when the game becomes tough you need to be stronger and show more resilience to keep the ball out of your net. " (15: 00 BST unless stated) We have

11 more games to bring you tomorrow in the Championship. Use button at top of page or #bbcefl, Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Love to see Ipswich taking the initiative from ko. Too much feeling around early doors before reacting. They almost seem happy to do 12 rounds and wait for a points decision. Alex Das, Ipswich FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich After tonight's game we've still got plenty more to come across this EFL weekend. We have

picked out five things you might want to keep an eye on. There's a new boss in town at Luton - you might have heard of him - while other managers are facing their former loves. FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Middlesbrough Rob Edwards' Middlesbrough earned a hard-fought three points that sends them back to the top of the Championship and he gave Sky Sports his thoughts on the penalty save by Sol Brynn and his sides' performance: "I'm really pleased with the performance, I thought we'd have to re-group perhaps, but then Sol came up, football is about moments, an amazing save and then we go in a goal up at the break and it's a funny game. "We've been talking a lot and I get questioned after a tough game at Southampton, and then we drew a blank against Stoke and then lost at Portsmouth so some of the questions coming to me in the media about goal scoring. .. we're solid and football is about finding a balance. "We want to have both, we want to be solid and we want to be able to create lots of chances so tonight was pleasing that we were able to do that. "I though it was a fantastic game, Ipswich are really good so I enjoyed it to a point, and then the final whistle went and I really enjoyed it. " FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Alex Mathie Former Ipswich Town striker on BBC Radio Suffolk It's just the way they looked, they looked sluggish all over the pitch. We never got near their midfield players, their passing game was two yards off it. Boro were no great shakes, the passes they were making , there was no one near them to challenge them. The cross for their second goal, there was no player within ten yards of him, poor defensively and if it wasn't for Palmer in goal it could have been more. If we score the penalty we go in happy at half-time and I believe we see the game out, but we give a goal away just before half-time, we gave a [second] goal away at the wrong time and then it's backs against the wall from there. Use button at top of page or #bbcefl, Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) What a great match, a missed penalty, an unfortunate own goal, end to end action and two fantastic supports. Great respect to both sides for not sitting back and defending. Well done Middlesbrough for the win, and Ipswich coming out and giving it a go. Robert Clark, Ipswich FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Middlesbrough Morgan Whittaker scored his first goal for Middlesbrough tonight after a tough start to life on Teesside and has been telling Sky Sports it's a relief to get off the mark: "It's such a relief, I want to thank the gaffer for putting his trust in me and the circle of people around me because they've been a massive help to me at this time. "To get my first goal is such a weight off my shoulders and hopefully I can take that on for the next games. "It's been very lonely and very tough and that's why I want to thank those people because they've helped me massively and I just want to kick on now. " Use button at top of page or #bbcefl, Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Huge result for my beloved Boro. Hackney will be a Prem player in 2026, let’s hope it’s with the Boro. Jamie, Middlesbrough Hayden Hackney wow. If Boro don’t go up he’s surely destined for the Prem. Great win for the Boro UTB. Mark, London FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Middlesbrough Hayden Hackney, who almost joined Ipswich in the summer, was outstanding for Middlesbrough tonight and has been talking to Sky Sports: "Delighted with the win and after losing last time out it's good to put it right. "Sol (Brynn) kept us in it with that penalty save and we should have scored two or three more but we're just delighted with the win. "I chose to stay here and I'm glad we got the win. " FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Confirmation that Middlesbrough regain top spot in the Championship with that hard-fought victory. It could, of course, only be for a matter of hours, should Coventry win at home to Blackburn tomorrow. Ipswich stay ninth but will surely tumble a few places after Saturday's games given how tight the standings are. FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Neil Maddison Former Middlesbrough midfielder on BBC Tees I've got to admit, what a performance! It had everything, it had quality, grit, determination, can't praise the boys enough. To marshal games at times is really important, what a performance and they deserve all the credit. The back four immense, anything that came over, they won. Hackney, that first half performance was so him, he was going to go to Ipswich, he stuck here, and he's shown his quality. That was a tough game, we had to weather the storm at times, we did that, this is a different Boro side. FT: Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Stay with us as we gather some reaction to this one and give us your thoughts by clicking on the 'Get Involved' tab at the top of the page. Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich A very good game of Championship football. That feels like a statement win for Middlesbrough as they head back to the top of the table. Ipswich will point to George Hirst's penalty being saved by Sol Brynn with the score at 0-0 as a pivotal moment but their own goalkeeper, Alex Palmer had already produced four outstanding saves before Cedric Kipre's own goal handed Middlesbrough the lead. Morgan Whittaker's first goal for the Teessiders looked to have made it safe before Dara O'Shea's header gave the Suffolk side some hope. But Middlesbrough held on and return to winning ways while Ipswich's five-game unbeaten run is over. Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Middlesbrough have the ball deep inside the Ipswich half. They're almost there but then give away a cheap free-kick. It's not quite done yet. Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich We will have at least an extra four minutes at the end of this one. Time for more drama? Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Brenner Woolley BBC Radio Suffolk commentator Middlesbrough slowing things down, they're breaking up play now. That suits them far more than it suits Ipswich Town. Not too many fans leaving this one early though. Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich A defensive move by Rob Edwards. On comes Luke Ayling for Middlesbrough in place of Delano Burgzorg. Hold what they've got? Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Off goes Azor Matusiwa for Ipswich. Jack Taylor is on. Everyone enjoying this? Middlesbrough have won six of their opening 10 Championship games Middlesbrough went back to the top of the Championship as they delivered a statement victory over pre-season promotion favourites Ipswich Town. After three games without a win, a Cedric Kipre own goal in first-half injury time and then a first goal in Boro colours for Morgan Whittaker saw them go two points clear of unbeaten Coventry City, who host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Boro have now collected 13 points from a possible 15 at the Riverside under head coach Rob Edwards and this result will maintain the early season optimism that the former Luton Town boss has generated on Teesside since his June arrival. For Ipswich, it was a first defeat in six games and they were left to rue George Hirst's penalty miss - just three minutes before the opening goal - as his effort was brilliantly saved by Boro goalkeeper Sol Brynn. Captain Dara O'Shea did halve the deficit with 14 minutes left, but they could not rescue a point as they remain ninth and winless on their travels this season. Boro's outstanding start of four wins out of four in August had stalled somewhat just before the international break with two draws and a first defeat in a loss at Portsmouth. The Tractor Boys were starting to find their groove when the action stopped, having had a slow start to the campaign with a memorable win over local rivals Norwich City in their last match the highlight. Edwards rolled the dice as he made four changes to his starting line-up and Boro would have been in front earlier, but from some outstanding goalkeeping from Alex Palmer, who made four excellent saves in as many minutes. But that was surpassed at the other end by Brynn, who won the battle with Scotland striker Hirst from 12 yards after Callum Brittain had tugged Leif Davis in the box, making a splendid one-handed save to his right. The momentum shift from that penalty save was then felt as Boro went ahead when Palmer was beaten by his own defender. Kipre was unable to sort his feet out in trying to deal with Burgzorg's deflected low ball across the box and watched in horror as it slipped into the net. If the first goal was unfortunate, the second was a moment of relief and redemption for Whittaker. Having arrived in a high-profile move from Plymouth Argyle in January, the attacking midfielder had not scored in his first 25 games for Boro and was on the receiving end of criticism from his own supporters last month - which had prompted a strong response from Edwards in supporting his player. And when Palmer could only push out David Strelec's low cross towards the penalty spot, Whittaker was on hand to thump home the loose ball to end that drought. The visitors made a quadruple change and were much improved as Republic of Ireland defender O'Shea headed in his first Ipswich goal from Marcelino Nunez's corner. But they could not find an equaliser and it is now just two points from a possible 12 away from Portman Road, an issue boss Kieran Mc Kenna must fix if they are to move into promotion contention and an immediate top-flight return. While Boro can enjoy another fine win, they will drop to second if Coventry beat Blackburn at home on Saturday (15: 00 BST). Middlesbrough head coach Rob Edwards told BBC Radio Tees: "I loved us tonight. The energy, the intensity, the work-rate, the desire to win the back, the blocks. I loved that, that side of us was great. We carried a threat and we scored a magnificent second goal. "I'm really proud of the lads and I feel privileged to be part of this because I think it was a really good game. "We dropped a few points, one or two questions were asked and we've delivered and answered them. But what we've got to do is be consistent and keep that going. " Ipswich Town manager Kieran Mc Kenna told BBC Radio Suffolk: "We made too many mistakes to win the game or have too many complaints. "The night could have been different. We could have got the first goal on a couple of occasions, the penalty being the biggest one. "But the bit of the performance I'm most disappointed about is how we managed the most difficult spells of the game. It became too open, too chaotic, we gave up too much. "To come away to a difficult place against a team in form and a crowd behind them, you can't make as many mistakes as we did. You need to be stronger and show more resilience to keep the ball out of your net. " This video can not be played Edwards: 'Best win of Boro's season' After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 17th October 2025 at 21: 51 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Rob Edwards Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Kieran Mc Kenna Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Rob Edwards Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Kieran Mc Kenna Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Middlesbrough failed to beat Ipswich Town the last league season they played together in 2023-24 (D1 L1), after winning five of the previous seven encounters (D2). Ipswich Town could win successive league games at Middlesbrough for the first time, after winning 2-0 on their last league visit in December 2023. Middlesbrough, who lost 1-0 last time out to Portsmouth, could lose successive league games for the first time since April, while they haven’t failed to score in three successive league matches since April 2022 (run of four). Only Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers (both 11) have won more points in the Championship since the start of September than Ipswich (10), while they’ve scored 13 goals across their last five games since a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End. Nine of Ipswich Town’s last 12 Championship goals have been scored by either Jack Clarke (4) or Jaden Philogene (5) – Clarke has found the net in four of his last five games, with three of those coming as a substitute. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.