Ipswich Town lost ground on the Championship's top two as they were held by struggling Wigan in an uninspiring goalless draw.

Jay Tabb had Town's best chance of the first half, lashing over when put through by Tyrone Mings.

Wigan's James Perch headed wide from a Don Cowie corner after the break and at the other end David McGoldrick nodded straight at Ali Al Habsi.

Freddie Sears had a late chance for Town, but neither side deserved to win.

Fourth-placed Ipswich are 19 places and 29 points above relegation-threatened Wigan, but Mick McCarthy's promotion-chasing side lacked the creativity to unlock the languishing Latics.

Mackay on Ipswich v Wigan

Wins for leaders Bournemouth, as well as promotion rivals Derby and Middlesbrough over the weekend, left Town three points off the top two.

And while Malky Mackay's Wigan will be pleased to have come away from Portman Road with a point, it did little to brighten their survival prospects, as they are seven points adrift of safety.

Wigan were able to bring on striker Billy McKay for his debut following a move from Inverness, where he has scored 10 times this term, but he was unable to affect the outcome.

Wigan was a rubbish game - McCarthy

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy:

"I'm not going to make any excuses. Neither side played very well. We didn't deserve to win the game so I am delighted with the point from the game.

"I have always said we are not that good that we are going to win every game. But it takes about 75 points to make the play-offs so we now need 24.

"If you look through Wigan's team, you can't tell me that's a team in the bottom three. They ought to be challenging where we are."

Wigan boss Malky Mackay:

"I think we were terrific. I have watched Ipswich four times this season as a neutral and I knew they grinded teams down before scoring and winning - that is why they are near the top of the league.

"We had to make sure we matched that and we did. There was very little between the two teams. Anyone watching that game couldn't have said who was near the top and who was near the bottom."

Lineup, Bookings (4) & Substitutions (4)

Ipswich Town

  • 33 Bialkowski
  • 04 Chambers
  • 05 Smith Booked
  • 06 Berra
  • 03 Mings
  • 11 Anderson (Bishop - 45' )
  • 08 Skuse
  • 17 Bru
  • 18 Tabb (Parr - 83' )
  • 10 McGoldrick
  • 16 Hunt (Sears - 65' )

Substitutes

  • 02 Parr
  • 12 Hunt
  • 20 Sears
  • 27 Bishop
  • 28 Clarke
  • 29 Ambrose
  • 35 Kenny

Wigan Athletic

  • 26 Al Habsi
  • 24 Perch Booked
  • 25 Barnett
  • 27 Ridgewell
  • 03 Taylor
  • 36 Kvist Booked
  • 19 Cowie
  • 14 Huws
  • 33 Waghorn (Mckay - 78' )
  • 32 Fortuné
  • 11 McClean Booked

Substitutes

  • 01 Carson
  • 10 Mckay
  • 17 Boyce
  • 28 Pearce
  • 30 Kiernan
  • 37 Flores
  • 43 Cosgrove
Ref: Charles Breakspear
Att: 19,155

Match Stats

Shots

9 5

On target

3 1

Corners

2 4

Fouls

11 15

Live Text Commentary

Full time

Full Time Match ends, Ipswich Town 0, Wigan Athletic 0.

90:00 +3:08 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Ipswich Town 0, Wigan Athletic 0.

90:00 +0:11

Foul by Kevin Bru (Ipswich Town).

90:00 +0:11

Don Cowie (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

89:23

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Marc-Antoine Fortuné tries a through ball, but Billy McKay is caught offside.

87:54

Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Christophe Berra.

87:05

Offside, Ipswich Town. Jonathan Parr tries a through ball, but Freddie Sears is caught offside.

86:38

Attempt missed. Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by William Kvist.

84:33

Foul by David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town).

84:33

Leon Barnett (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

83:43

Tyrone Mings (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

83:43

Foul by Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic).

82:47 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Ipswich Town. Jonathan Parr replaces Jay Tabb.

80:02

Attempt missed. David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Jay Tabb with a cross following a set piece situation.

79:24 Booking

Booking James Perch (Wigan Athletic) is shown the yellow card.

79:19

David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.

79:19

Foul by James Perch (Wigan Athletic).

77:47 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Wigan Athletic. Billy McKay replaces Martyn Waghorn.

76:31

Foul by Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town).

76:31

Liam Ridgewell (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

76:00

Offside, Wigan Athletic. James Perch tries a through ball, but Marc-Antoine Fortuné is caught offside.

74:40

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Ali Al Habsi tries a through ball, but James McClean is caught offside.

74:21

Attempt saved. Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David McGoldrick with a cross.

74:00

Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

74:00

Dangerous play by Don Cowie (Wigan Athletic).

71:10

Attempt saved. David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tyrone Mings with a cross.

69:25

Offside, Ipswich Town. Teddy Bishop tries a through ball, but Tommy Smith is caught offside.

69:04

Teddy Bishop (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the right wing.

69:04

Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Wigan Athletic).

66:55

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

66:08

Delay in match Don Cowie (Wigan Athletic) because of an injury.

65:18

Offside, Wigan Athletic. James Perch tries a through ball, but Marc-Antoine Fortuné is caught offside.

64:15 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Ipswich Town. Freddie Sears replaces Noel Hunt.

63:16

Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Tommy Smith.

62:20

Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Christophe Berra.

61:32

Attempt missed. James Perch (Wigan Athletic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Don Cowie with a cross following a corner.

61:01

Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Christophe Berra.

60:09

Attempt missed. Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic) left footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Emyr Huws.

58:58

Cole Skuse (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

58:58

Foul by William Kvist (Wigan Athletic).

58:38

David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

58:38

Foul by Liam Ridgewell (Wigan Athletic).

56:10

Foul by Tyrone Mings (Ipswich Town).

56:10

James McClean (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick on the right wing.

52:41

Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

52:41

Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Wigan Athletic).

52:03

Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

52:03

Foul by James Perch (Wigan Athletic).

50:01

Offside, Wigan Athletic. William Kvist tries a through ball, but James McClean is caught offside.

46:09

David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

46:09

Foul by William Kvist (Wigan Athletic).

45:00

Second Half begins Ipswich Town 0, Wigan Athletic 0.

45:00 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Ipswich Town. Teddy Bishop replaces Paul Anderson.

45:00 +2:08 Half time

Half Time First Half ends, Ipswich Town 0, Wigan Athletic 0.

43:50

Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

43:50

Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Wigan Athletic).

43:14

Offside, Ipswich Town. Christophe Berra tries a through ball, but Noel Hunt is caught offside.

42:20

Attempt saved. Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Noel Hunt with a cross.

41:45

Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

41:45

Foul by William Kvist (Wigan Athletic).

40:09

Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Martyn Waghorn.

39:34 Booking

Booking James McClean (Wigan Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

39:27

Kevin Bru (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

39:27

Foul by James McClean (Wigan Athletic).

38:02

Attempt blocked. David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jay Tabb.

36:50

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Emyr Huws tries a through ball, but Martyn Waghorn is caught offside.

34:41 Booking

Booking William Kvist (Wigan Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

34:22

Kevin Bru (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the right wing.

34:22

Foul by William Kvist (Wigan Athletic).

32:37

Foul by Kevin Bru (Ipswich Town).

32:37

William Kvist (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

31:19

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Don Cowie tries a through ball, but Marc-Antoine Fortuné is caught offside.

30:46 Booking

Booking Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

30:32

Foul by Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town).

30:32

Martyn Waghorn (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

29:44

Attempt missed. Noel Hunt (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Tyrone Mings.

29:33

Attempt blocked. David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Tommy Smith.

28:27

Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the right wing.

28:27

Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Wigan Athletic).

24:40

Foul by Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town).

24:40

Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

19:54

Foul by David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town).

19:54

James Perch (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

18:10

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Marc-Antoine Fortuné tries a through ball, but James McClean is caught offside.

17:33

Foul by Kevin Bru (Ipswich Town).

17:33

Don Cowie (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

16:46

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Ali Al Habsi tries a through ball, but Marc-Antoine Fortuné is caught offside.

16:29

Foul by Tyrone Mings (Ipswich Town).

16:29

Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

12:54

Attempt missed. Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town) left footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Tyrone Mings with a through ball.

10:45

Foul by Noel Hunt (Ipswich Town).

10:45

Liam Ridgewell (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

9:35

Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

9:35

Foul by James McClean (Wigan Athletic).

7:27

Offside, Wigan Athletic. Ali Al Habsi tries a through ball, but James McClean is caught offside.

6:59

Attempt saved. William Kvist (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Emyr Huws.

5:55

Attempt missed. Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Paul Anderson with a cross.

4:15

Attempt missed. Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by James Perch with a cross.

1:50

Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by James Perch.

0:00

First Half begins.

0:00

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

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