Leeds in despair as Bent twists the knife

Ipswich Town 1 - Leeds United

Ipswich refused to allow life to get any better for Leeds following another torrid week at Elland Road, as Darren Bent's goal propelled the Suffolk club level on points with Wigan at the top of the Championship table.

Ipswich refused to allow life to get any better for Leeds following another torrid week at Elland Road, as Darren Bent's goal propelled the Suffolk club level on points with Wigan at the top of the Championship table.

Leeds twice came close to taking a first-half lead through the on-loan John Oster before Bent's scrambled goal in the 52nd minute broke the deadlock and Ipswich cruised to their fourth straight win.

Off-field shenanigans, last-minute business deals, ground sales and cunning plans to save Leeds have been the stories of the week in Yorkshire. But the fact remains, perhaps unreasonably, that whatever the final resolution to Leeds's problems, their manager, Kevin Blackwell, is expected to forge his inexpensively assembled squad into promotion challengers.

Continuity, at least, is on Blackwell's side, and he was able to name a starting line-up unchanged from their 4-2 win over Preston a week previously - a win that ended a run of five successive defeats.

Leeds ran Ipswich ragged for the opening stages. Oster, on loan from Sunderland, was the inspiration, his tireless running creating half-chances for David Healy who, but for an offside flag, would have headed Leeds into an early lead. In the 18th minute, a slip by Jason de Vos, the Ipswich defender, was pounced upon by Healy and he slipped a neat through-ball to Oster, whose powerful strike was blocked away by Ipswich's goalkeeper, Kelvin Davis, at his near post.

Ipswich were wasteful in possession and made as many unforced errors as those which were pestered out of them by Leeds's terrier-like approach. A Bent header, straight at goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, was all Ipswich had to show for their limp first-half endeavours. But the early introduction of youngster Dean Bowditch for the injured Tommy Miller in the second half captured the imagination of the home supporters.

His neat work on the left allowed Shefki Kuqi and Bent to combine sublimely to set up Ian Westlake, who blasted at Sullivan.

Sullivan could do nothing to stop Ipswich taking the lead, though, a few minutes later. The move began in farce as Gary Kelly and Clark Carlisle collided when attempting to deal with a chipped through- ball. Their slip allowed Kuqi to lash the ball goalwards from a narrow angle. Sullivan pulled off an outstanding back-arching save, but Bent outfought Danny Pugh, eventually trampling through the brave but despairing dive of Sullivan to force the ball over the line.

The goal brought Ipswich out of their shell and they had Leeds penned in their own half. As Ipswich applied the pressure Kelly cleared superbly, yards from his own goal line, just after the hour.