Match ends, Ipswich Town 1, Nottingham Forest 0.
IpswichIpswich Town1Nottm ForestNottingham Forest0
Ben Pringle's strike gave Ipswich a win over Nottingham Forest at Portman Road to move the hosts within one point of the Championship play-off places.
Forest came the closest in a first half of few chances when defender Matt Mills headed a corner against the bar.
Pringle, on loan from Fulham, scored his second in successive games with an effort that went in off the post.
Thereafter, Forest failed to seriously trouble keeper Bartosz Bialkowski as they lost for the fourth straight game.
The result mirrors last Saturday, when Ipswich beat Huddersfield 1-0 thanks to a goal from Pringle, who has impressed in his four games since moving from Craven Cottage.
Following Sheffield Wednesday's defeat by Rotherham, Mick McCarthy's side close the gap to the play-offs, while Forest have lost four Championship games in a row for the first time since December 2011.
Dougie Freedman's side did have the clearer opportunities in the first half, with Ipswich keeper Bialkowski needing to be at his best to stop Nelson Oliveira's curling effort.
Following Pringle's goal Ipswich almost grabbed another when Brett Pitman forced Dorus de Vries into a fine save as Ipswich extended their unbeaten run against Forest to six games.
Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy: "They were better than us in the first half and created a few chances, hitting the crossbar and Bart making a couple of good saves.
"But we were better in the second half and played some good football.
"Forest are a good side with good players and we had to work for everything to eke out the win. The upshot of it is that we kept a clean sheet and scored."
Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman: "We had three or four good chances in the first half - we certainly created enough to win the game.
"But our inability to score is crucifying us right now. The second half was more even and Ipswich managed to scramble a goal. We huffed and puffed but couldn't find an equaliser.
"I wanted us to give it a go today and, from a performance point of view, we were on the front foot.
"But we probably now need to go back to being resolute and hard to beat."
Line-ups
Ipswich
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 33Bialkowski
- 4Chambers
- 5Smith
- 6Berra
- 3Knudsen
- 44Foley
- 17BruSubstituted forMaitland-Nilesat 45'minutes
- 15PringleSubstituted forDigbyat 90+5'minutes
- 20Sears
- 19HyamBooked at 73mins
- 11PitmanSubstituted forVarneyat 90+2'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Gerken
- 7Maitland-Niles
- 18Tabb
- 37Digby
- 39Toure
- 41Dozzell
- 42Varney
Nottm Forest
Formation 4-4-2
- 1de Vries
- 2Lichaj
- 5Mills
- 4MancienneBooked at 60mins
- 3JokicSubstituted forCohenat 78'minutes
- 15Mendes da GraçaSubstituted forPetraviciusat 78'minutes
- 22Gardner
- 24Vaughan
- 38Osborn
- 17OliveiraBooked at 73minsSubstituted forGrantat 78'minutesBooked at 82mins
- 23BlackstockBooked at 6mins
Substitutes
- 6Wilson
- 8Cohen
- 26Evtimov
- 29O'Grady
- 32Tesche
- 37Grant
- 44Petravicius
- Referee:
- Andy Woolmer
- Attendance:
- 20,658
Match Stats
Home TeamIpswichAway TeamNottm Forest
- Possession
- Home54%
- Away46%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away16
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away3
- Corners
- Home4
- Away7
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away7
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Ipswich Town 1, Nottingham Forest 0.
Substitution
Substitution, Ipswich Town. Paul Digby replaces Ben Pringle.
Post update
Foul by Luke Varney (Ipswich Town).
Post update
Michael Mancienne (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Ipswich Town. Luke Varney replaces Brett Pitman.
Post update
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Jorge Grant tries a through ball, but Deimantas Petravicius is caught offside.
Post update
Hand ball by Ben Pringle (Ipswich Town).
Post update
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Eric Lichaj tries a through ball, but Jorge Grant is caught offside.
Booking
Jorge Grant (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Kevin Foley (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Jorge Grant (Nottingham Forest).
Post update
Attempt blocked. Dexter Blackstock (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Michael Mancienne.
Post update
Attempt missed. Michael Mancienne (Nottingham Forest) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by David Vaughan with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Christophe Berra.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Dexter Blackstock (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Ben Osborn with a cross.
Post update
Foul by Luke Hyam (Ipswich Town).
Post update
Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Chris Cohen replaces Bojan Jokic.
Substitution
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Deimantas Petravicius replaces Ryan Mendes.
