How the Irish fared: Daryl Murphy on the mark to save Ipswich

The goals may not be flowing as freely as last season but if Ipswich are to make the promised land of the Premier League, the contribution of Daryl Murphy will be crucial.

By this stage last season, the Waterford man had already struck 17 times in the standout campaign of his career. He’s found the going tougher this time round but has still managed to find the net eight times, and his most recent effort — a low drive from 20 yards — rescued a 1-1 draw for Mick McCarthy’s men against Preston.

Failure to win saw Ipswich drop out of the top six but Murphy, while feeling Ipswich should have been given a late penalty for handball, was reasonably content with a point.