Ipswich rescue dramatic point against Leicester after Vestergaard’s own goal | Championship

At the end of a thrilling match that displayed the best the Championship has to offer, there was nothing to choose between the division’s two standout teams. On any other day, the performance of both sides would have overrun virtually every team in the league. But these are no ordinary second-tier sides. And so a 1-1 draw felt entirely appropriate.

For so long in this breathtaking encounter it looked as though Leicester would cling on to victory courtesy of Stephy Mavididi’s wonderful first-half strike. But, after countless waves of Ipswich attack, the hosts procured a late equaliser when the hosts procured a late equaliser when Sam Morsy’s long-range effort took a double deflection off Ricardo Pereira and Jannik Vestergaard, before looping into the Leicester net.

Record points tallies for first and second place surely await. These are a couple of special sides that simply could not be split.

Ten days after the eagerly awaited return of a raucous East Anglian derby, the sense of anticipation around Portman Road for this top-of-the-table clash was almost as strong. That 2-2 draw with Norwich had preceded a period which always threatened to make a turkey filling of Kieran McKenna’s side in a festive sandwich of potentially decisive encounters against fellow promotion-chasers Leeds and Leicester.

The first of those provided the heaviest defeat of McKenna’s prosperous reign and a gap to the chasing pack that was once a gaping chasm had been reduced to just four points at kick-off after Southampton’s win earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Leicester’s progress towards a rapid Premier League return had continued on its eye-catchingly serene path, with the previously discarded Patson Daka rediscovering his goalscoring touch to help Enzo Maresca’s team stretch their unbeaten run to seven games by Christmas.

The two managers’ ardent devotion to their playing styles promised a fascinating game of jeopardy that was evident from the first peep of Samuel Barrott’s whistle: both men commanding his troops to build slowly and assuredly from the back even in the face of white-knuckle onrushing situations.

In the presence of attacking talent that has fired the division’s two top scoring teams, it meant regular and thrilling high turnovers that ensured neither set of fans could sip their mulled beverages without an ever-present sense of trepidation.

Yet while the possession-based fare was some of the Championship’s most attractive football, chances were at a premium until a beauty from Mavididi with the game’s first shot on target. Gifted space on the left, he was picked out by Daka and calmly selected his spot, clinically curling into the far corner from 20 yards.

Despite some customary neat flowing moves of their own, Ipswich were frequently riding their luck at the back, indebted to last-ditch tackles from Cameron Burgess and Harry Clarke, before Vaclav Hladky denied Daka. The hosts went in at half-time having barely asked a question of Mads Hermansen.

That was in no small part due to the early loss of frontman George Hirst, forced off against his former club with an injury after slipping over, but it did not prevent Ipswich from seeking intricate routes through their opponents. With Leicester looking to rapidly exploit any available space in the final third it made for an increasingly breathless match-up.

As the game entered the last half- hour the home side finally started to dictate, threatening primarily through the omnipresent Conor Chaplin.

First, he forced Hermansen into an acrobatic palm away with an ambitious effort from just inside the Leicester half. Next Chaplin stung the visiting keeper’s hands with a firm drive from the edge of the penalty area, before swiftly following up with a blazed effort over the bar. Roared on by the Portman Road faithful, the intensity continued to rise.

With the benefit of video replays in the division above, Leicester would almost certainly have been awarded a penalty from which to double their lead, but Burgess was fortunate to see his clumsy last-man bundle on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall go unpunished.

Still Ipswich pushed. The substitute Nathan Broadhead slipped at the most inopportune moment after he was unleashed in behind the Leicester defence, and Freddie Ladapo then saw his close-range shot deflected wide.

Finally, deep into injury time, they grabbed their equaliser. The deflection from Morsy’s shot wrongfooted Hermansen and left him no chance. Honours even.