Daryl Murphy has lost his golden touch

What a difference a year makes. 12 months ago Daryl Murphy was in the midst of the most prolific season of his career.

A goal in the 2-0 win over Blackpool brought his tally to eight. He would finish the campaign with 27, a remarkable haul that nearly brought Mick McCarthy’s men to the Premier League.

A year on, the narrative is very different. Nearly a third of the way through the Championship season Murphy has yet to find the net. The drought, inevitably, is hurting Ipswich. On Saturday they were held to a scoreless draw by Cardiff City, a result that leaves them winless in their last seven league games and six points off a play-off spot.

In contrast, with Murphy firing, McCarthy’s men were just five points off top spot this time last season.

Murphy’s famine almost ended on Saturday but his header was turned onto the post. It summed up the way things are going for Murphy this season and McCarthy admitted his striker is struggling for confidence.

He said: “It doesn’t matter what job you’re doing, if it’s just not happening for you then your confidence will hardly be flowing. He needs to find one from somewhere.

“He had a couple on his right foot when he checked back and they defended it well. On a different day, when he was scoring 27 goals, he’d have probably swung his right foot and it would have ended up in the net. That’s football and that’s strikers. It’s just not happening for us at the minute.”

Things look far rosier for Chris Hughton. His unbeaten Brighton side continue to lead the way after a 1-1 draw at Reading.

Derby’s momentum continues to grow with Richard Keogh’s first goal since December 2013 helping them to a 3-0 win Rotherham United.

Keogh said: “It’s been a long time coming. It was a great feeling.” Reflecting on Derby’s current fine form, Keogh added: “We’re a very confident group and we’re growing all the time. There’s more to come from us and I think it’s exciting.”

It was a quiet weekend for the Irish in League One with David Mooney the only scorer as Southend drew 2-2 with Rochdale.

In League Two, Graham Carey scored his sixth of the season in Plymouth’s 2-0 win over Morecambe while both Graham Burke and Alan Sheehan netted as Notts County beat Portsmouth 2-1.

In the Scottish Premiership, Graham Cummins scored twice as St Johnstone won 4-2 at Hamilton while Adam Rooney grabbed a consolation in Aberdeen’s 3-1 defeat to Celtic.