Ipswich 2-2 Wolves: Visitors fight back to claim draw

Wolves twice came from behind to deservedly deny Ipswich a chance to gain more ground on the Sky Bet Championship top six after an entertaining 2-2 draw at Portman Road.

Jonathan Douglas scored his second goal in as many games to give Ipswich the lead but James Henry equalised seven minutes before the break.

It was a similar story in the second half when Daryl Murphy restored Ipswich's lead but they were again pegged back when Benik Afobe headed in his eighth of the season after good work from substitute Adam Le Fondre.

Wolves started well, taking advantage of some sloppy home defending, with the rampaging Dominic Iorfa denied by a brilliant sliding tackle by Christophe Berra before Jordan Graham's shot was blocked by Tommy Smith and then grabbed by the grounded - and relieved - home goalkeeper Dean Gerken.

Ipswich took the lead after 16 minutes, slightly against the run of play after Freddie Sears and Jonas Knudsen combined down the left and the Danish full-back's low cross was left by Murphy for Douglas to coolly find the net with the outside of his right boot.

The visitors almost hit back immediately - Dave Edwards' dipping volley going just over Gerken's crossbar - before at the other end Brett Pitman charged down Carl Ikeme's attempted clearance. The Wolves goalkeeper's blushes were spared with the ricochet falling wide of the goal.

It was almost 2-0 in the 26th minute when Pitman, like Douglas before him, found himself with far too much space in the Wolves area but his header from Sears' cross narrowly missed the corner of the net.

Pitman went even closer, albeit in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, when his deep cross seemed too close to Ikeme but ended up going over the backtracking goalkeeper and hitting the top of the crossbar.

Seven minutes before the interval, Wolves got themselves back on level terms when Graham's far-post corner was knocked back by Mike Williamson and Henry turned the ball in from close range.

Ipswich regained the lead nine minutes after the restart when Pitman was set clear by Cole Skuse. The striker's cross-shot drifted past the stuttering Ikeme and Murphy had the simple task of heading into the empty net.

The goal galvanised the home side who looked the more likely to add to their tally but their final ball was lacking.

Wolves equalised for a second time with 16 minutes left.

Le Fondre's cross was headed in by the previously quiet Afobe, who did well to find space between two Ipswich defenders.

Another man who came off the bench, Ipswich winger Ainsley Maitland-Niles, headed just wide in the 79th minute before Sears and Murphy exchanges passes but an off-balance Douglas could not find the power to beat Ikeme.