Ipswich Town regained second place in the Championship and completed a first league double over East Anglian rivals Norwich City for 33 years in a derby which threatened to boil over on a number of occasions.

Facing a much-improved Canaries side from the one they beat at Portman Road in October, the visitors were handed an early advantage with Jaden Philogene converting a controversially awarded ninth-minute penalty.

Despite dominating possession and forcing 13 corners to compared to Ipswich's one, Norwich found chances hard to come by and, after Vladan Kovacevic had twice denied George Hirst, the striker doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time.

Pelle Mattsson and Anis Ben Slimane tested Christian Walton in the Suffolk side's goal but it was a poor return for Norwich's domination of possession.

Having seen Millwall move above them into second place with a draw at West Bromwich Albion on Friday night, Ipswich were once again left in the situation of having to chase the automatic promotion positions - but were handed the perfect early opportunity to do so.

Slimane caught Jack Taylor on his follow through as he cleared the ball out of his 18-yard area and, after a long pause, referee Anthony Backhouse pointed to the spot from where Philogene sent Kovacevic the wrong way for his 11th goal of the season.

The Norwich goalkeeper then twice denied Hirst, first from a header and then when the striker had been superbly set-up by Philogene.

Mattsson's 25-yard effort, saved by Walton, was all the home side had to show for their first-half efforts and they were made to pay in the first minute of added time as the Canaries' defence failed to deal with a long throw and Hirst expertly found the bottom corner of the net.

Slimane forced another stop out of Walton at the start of the second half but despite enjoying a succession of corners and the territorial advantage, Norwich were continually kept at bay by the massed Ipswich defence.

A game which produced 10 yellow cards and a number of flashpoints could have got out of hand with referee Backhouse having to calm emotions and try to keep a lid on a tinderbox atmosphere.

The introduction of former Canary Marcelino Nunez as a substitute by Ipswich only heightened tensions and the Chilean did nothing to help things by earning a yellow card and testing the official's patience before being hauled off by Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna.

A first win at Carrow Road for Ipswich in 20 years is potentially a huge step for them towards a return to the Premier League while Norwich, despite their recent resurgence under Philippe Clement, were given a glimpse of exactly what is needed to be true promotion challengers.

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna told his post-match press conference:

"It's a brilliant win for the club.

"Today felt separate to the league campaign - we had a massive goal to come and win at a stadium where we haven't for so long and it's a brilliant memory in our season.

"We would have liked to have controlled the ball more but it wasn't about that, it was about picking a team and a gameplan to win."

On substituting second-half substitute Marcelino Nunez:

"He didn't start because he's just coming back from injury and we need to protect him over the seven games we have.

"We knew him coming back here would also add to the environment and the occasion - it got heated out there and we had to make the change to protect him and the result."

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement voiced his disappointment at the award of Ipswich's early penalty:

"We started the game well, were dominant on the ball and pushed Ipswich back so that was good stuff but then you get a penalty against you which for me is not a penalty.

"Anis (Ben Slimane) wants to clear the ball, the other player dives into him. That is a game-deciding moment - it's about small margins and it goes against you and it's a hard one (to take).

"I am a fan of VAR to avoid these moments - with VAR that is not a penalty. It is a player trying to cheat and act like he has been cut down by a tackle and he has won on this occasion.

"A referee cannot be in the right position all the time, I realise that so that is why you need objective decisions on these occasions.

"I'm proud of how the players reacted and dominated but we did not create enough chances - we were in their box more than Ipswich were in ours today but they were more ruthless."