Tom Ince's fourth goal in five days saw Derby beat Ipswich to move up to second in the Championship.
Having scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Bristol City on Tuesday, Ince struck again on 40 minutes after being put through on goal by Johnny Russell.
Ipswich had chances to equalise, with Daryl Murphy and Jonathan Douglas both going close with headers.
But Derby held on to move a point above Brighton, who lost 3-0 at home to leaders Middlesbrough.
Ipswich remain in the final play-off spot, one point ahead of Birmingham City, and Saturday's defeat was their third at home this season, all of them by promotion rivals.
The hosts will feel frustrated to have lost what was a scrappy game in which they had opportunities to find the net.
Freddie Sears had the first real chance of the match, when his low shot was easily saved by Lee Grant.
Bradley Johnson then went close for Derby with a curling shot from 20 yards that went just wide, before Town defender Tommy Smith denied Chris Martin with an excellent block in the area.
George Thorne then blocked a Sears attempt at the other end before Jacob Butterfield saw a long-range shot saved by Ipswich keeper Dean Gerken.
Ince fired the Rams in front after being fed the ball by Russell, who was under pressure from Christophe Berra, when just inside the box and with only Gerken to beat.
Ipswich pressed for an equaliser after half-time with a Sears cross finding Murphy, whose header drifted narrowly over the bar.
Substitute Ryan Fraser's shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Jason Shackell and Douglas went very close to levelling for the hosts when his header at goal was cleared off the line by Butterfield.
Sears also fired wide from a tight angle as Derby held on to extend their unbeaten run to six games.
Lineup, Bookings (4) & Substitutions (6)
Ipswich Town
- 01 Gerken
- 04 Chambers
- 05 Smith
- 06 Berra Booked
- 03 Knudsen
- 07 Maitland-Niles (Bru - 63' )
- 08 Skuse
- 22 Douglas Booked (Varney - 84' )
- 09 Murphy
- 11 Pitman (Fraser - 58' )
- 20 Sears
Substitutes
- 14 Fraser
- 15 Oar
- 16 Coke
- 17 Bru
- 21 Malarczyk
- 33 Bialkowski
- 42 Varney
Derby County
- 01 Grant
- 02 Christie
- 06 Keogh
- 14 Shackell
- 37 Warnock
- 18 Butterfield Booked (Hendrick - 83' )
- 34 Thorne
- 15 Johnson
- 23 Ince Booked (Baird - 94' )
- 09 Martin
- 11 Russell (Weimann - 79' )
Substitutes
- 08 Hendrick
- 10 Bent
- 12 Baird
- 16 Pearce
- 24 Weimann
- 32 Shotton
- 35 Mitchell
Match Stats
Live Text Commentary
Full Time Match ends, Ipswich Town 0, Derby County 1.
90:00 +4:38 Full timeFull Time Second Half ends, Ipswich Town 0, Derby County 1.
90:00 +3:29 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Derby County. Chris Baird replaces Tom Ince.
90:00 +2:40Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Dean Gerken.
90:00 +2:39Attempt saved. Bradley Johnson (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Andreas Weimann.
87:06Offside, Ipswich Town. Jonas Knudsen tries a through ball, but Freddie Sears is caught offside.
83:31 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Ipswich Town. Luke Varney replaces Jonathan Douglas.
82:45 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Derby County. Jeff Hendrick replaces Jacob Butterfield.
82:05Attempt missed. Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the left. Assisted by Ryan Fraser following a corner.
81:35Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by George Thorne.
80:38 BookingBooking Tom Ince (Derby County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
80:32Ryan Fraser (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
80:32Foul by Tom Ince (Derby County).
80:29Attempt blocked. Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ryan Fraser with a cross.
80:07Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Cyrus Christie.
78:44 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Derby County. Andreas Weimann replaces Johnny Russell.
75:59 BookingBooking Jacob Butterfield (Derby County) is shown the yellow card.
75:44Cole Skuse (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
75:44Foul by Jacob Butterfield (Derby County).
74:40Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Jonas Knudsen.
Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Richard Keogh.
71:12Delay over. They are ready to continue.
70:02Delay in match Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town) because of an injury.
70:02Delay in match Cyrus Christie (Derby County) because of an injury.
67:06 BookingBooking Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
66:57Foul by Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town).
66:57Johnny Russell (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
66:41Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Cyrus Christie.
63:05Attempt missed. Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Kevin Bru with a cross following a corner.
62:48Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Jason Shackell.
62:46Attempt blocked. Ryan Fraser (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
62:01 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Ipswich Town. Kevin Bru replaces Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
57:59 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Ipswich Town. Ryan Fraser replaces Brett Pitman.
56:44Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
56:44Foul by Johnny Russell (Derby County).
55:12Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Johnny Russell.
53:30Attempt missed. Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Brett Pitman following a corner.
53:21Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Stephen Warnock.
52:56Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Cyrus Christie.
51:32Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
51:32Foul by Chris Martin (Derby County).
50:55Attempt missed. Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Freddie Sears.
47:32Attempt blocked. Cole Skuse (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
45:00Second Half begins Ipswich Town 0, Derby County 1.
45:00 +2:09 Half timeHalf Time First Half ends, Ipswich Town 0, Derby County 1.
45:00 +0:48Brett Pitman (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
45:00 +0:48Foul by Chris Martin (Derby County).
44:37Foul by Brett Pitman (Ipswich Town).
44:37Richard Keogh (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
39:30 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Ipswich Town 0, Derby County 1. Tom Ince (Derby County) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Johnny Russell.
38:05Brett Pitman (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
38:05Foul by George Thorne (Derby County).
37:29Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
37:29Foul by Bradley Johnson (Derby County).
37:00Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Christophe Berra.
33:23Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
33:23Foul by Cyrus Christie (Derby County).
32:08Foul by Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town).
32:08Chris Martin (Derby County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
29:38Attempt missed. Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
28:34Attempt saved. Jacob Butterfield (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tom Ince.
28:18Attempt blocked. Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Brett Pitman with a cross.
27:16Foul by Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town).
27:16Jason Shackell (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
26:43Attempt missed. Tom Ince (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Cyrus Christie.
25:36 BookingBooking Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
25:30Foul by Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town).
25:30Stephen Warnock (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
25:22Attempt blocked. Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
25:20Attempt blocked. Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ainsley Maitland-Niles with a cross.
24:52Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by Stephen Warnock.
24:08Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
24:08Foul by Bradley Johnson (Derby County).
21:08Attempt saved. Tom Ince (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
20:04Bradley Johnson (Derby County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
20:04Foul by Jonathan Douglas (Ipswich Town).
20:01Attempt blocked. Chris Martin (Derby County) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Tom Ince.
17:57Offside, Ipswich Town. Tommy Smith tries a through ball, but Luke Chambers is caught offside.
17:37Foul by Bradley Johnson (Derby County).
17:37Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
15:39Chris Martin (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
15:39Foul by Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town).
15:15Foul by Johnny Russell (Derby County).
15:15Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
14:12Johnny Russell (Derby County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
14:12Foul by Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Ipswich Town).
11:23Attempt missed. Bradley Johnson (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Johnny Russell.
5:00Attempt saved. Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jonas Knudsen.
1:56Offside, Ipswich Town. Jonas Knudsen tries a through ball, but Brett Pitman is caught offside.
0:00First Half begins.
0:00Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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