Crystal Palace 1-2 Ipswich Town

Grant Leadbitter’s penalty gave Ipswich the lead on 51 minutes after Claude Davis was sent off for pulling back Jon Stead.

Carlos Edwards added a second five minutes later and although Ipswich were also reduced to 10-men following the 73rd minute dismissal of Adros Townsend, Palace could only muster an injury time consolation from Neil Danns in response.

New signings Jonathan Obika, Stuart O’Keefe and Alex Marrow were named on the bench by manger George Burley, who has had a busy week in the transfer market.

Fellow new boys Edgar Davids and Pablo Counago did not feature as Davids was unfit and Counago was not allowed to face his parent club under the terms of his loan deal.

But the biggest blow was the absence of another former Tractor Boy, Darren Ambrose, who had seemingly picked up a pre-match injury.

Palace almost made the perfect start when Owen Garvan’s 25 yard volley after just 14 seconds sailed just inches over the Ipswich bar.

Julian Speroni dealt comfortably with Jon Stead’s low drive on seven minutes and the Eagles keeper was equally competent in gathering Leadbitter’s cprner 60 seconds later.

The home side had a lucky escape in the 10th minute when Stead beat the offside trap by latching onto Leadbitter’s long punt forward and the striker’s cross found Edwards six yards out, who somehow contrived to fire over from two yards.

Davis made a crucial block to prevent David Norris from getting a shot in on goal three minutes later as Ipswich again went close.

Both Alan Lee and Paddy McCarthy can consider themselves unfortunate not to have connected with Wilfred Zaha’s dangerous 18th minute delivery across the face of goal.

Crystal Palace did have the ball in the back of the net midway through the first half when Andrew Dorman found the target but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Ipswich hit the bar when Stead’s 31st minute cross took a wicked deflection off Davis but credit to Speroni for tipping it onto the woodwork before Townsend shot over the bar from the loose ball.

Zaha went on a mazy run one minute before the break which took him past three Ipswich defenders but his eventual pass across the face of goal was weak and the danger was cleared.

However, there was to be no breakthrough in an evenly contested first half and both sides went in at the break knowing there was still everything to play for in the second half.

Ipswich were awarded a penalty six minutes after the restart when Davis was adjudged to have tugged back Stead just inside the area.

Not for the first time in his Palace career, it was a costly mistake by the defender and he was handed a straight red card before Leadbitter coolly stepped up to send Speroni the wrong way from the penalty spot.

The advantage was doubled in the 56th minute when broke Leadbitter clear and his cross from the left was tapped home past Speroni by Edwards from six yards.

Gareth McAuley could have made it 3-0 on 65 minutes when he glanced a free header just wide of the target.

Luke Hyam and Garvan both received a yellow card on 69 minutes after the Ipswich player and Lee clashed just inside the Palace half as things threatened to boil over.

An ambitious lob of the keeper by Dorman went over and then Danns had an effort blocked moments later.

Ipswich’s numerical advantage was taken away when Townsend saw red on 73 minutes after going in with his leg on Speroni, an incident which left the Eagles keeper writhing on the floor in obvious pain.

Bennett shot wildly over in the 81st minute after the ball fell kindly at his feet from a corner.

Danns did manage to reduce the arrears three minutes into stoppage time when he got on the end of Nathaniel Clyne’s cross but it was too little, too late and Ipswich held on to claim all three points on a disappointing day for the Eagles.

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Clyne, Davis, McCarthy, Bennett, Cadogan (Barrett 51), Garvan, Danns, Dorman (Obika 75), Lee (Marrow 83), Zaha. Subs not used: Andrew, Price, Djilali, O'Keefe. Att: 15,781.