Ipswich Town inflicted Aston Villa’s first defeat at home this season with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park.
Mick McCarthy’s side scored the only goal of the game in the 83rd minute courtesy of Emyr Huws who was well-placed to finish after David McGoldrick’s header had been cleared off the line.
The victory was the Tractor Boys’ first victory against Aston Villa since 1994, with McCarthy’s side enjoying a resurgence of form in recent weeks to reach 13th in the Championship table.
Villa were busy in the transfer window and Neil Taylor, as well as Conor Hourihane, were among the players who made their home debuts.
Despite creating a wealth of opportunities Bruce’s side were unable to get past Bartosz Bialkowski in the Ipswich goal and were made to pay for their missed chances when Huws slotted home seven minutes from time.
Bruce, whose side are now 16th in the league, told the Express and Star: “It’s tough at the minute. We certainly didn’t deserve to lose. We had some really good opportunities and didn’t take them.
“The next few games are going to be important. It is time to batten down the hatches and face the flax. We need to take some of the chances we are creating.
“We now have to find some form to get a win to restore the confidence in the team.”
