Aston Villa 0 Ipswich 1 - Report

The midfielder fired home with seven minutes remaining to earn Ipswich three points and extend Villa's winless run to eight games.

Birkir Bjarnason had earlier hit the bar while visiting keeper Bartosz Bialkowski denied both Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury.

Nathan Baker also had a header cleared off the line before Huws struck late - with the visitors only attempt on target - to steal the points.

Analysis

Defeat saw Villa fall to 16th in the Championship table and their hopes of making the play-offs, slender at best before kick-off, are now surely over.

Indeed, on current form their greater concern might be at the other end of the table, after defeat to an Ipswich team just as out of form as themselves left them just seven points clear of the bottom three.

For the second week running Bruce will feel his team did more than enough to win the game.

But they failed to take their chances, particularly during a dominant first half, and ultimately paid the price.

Bruce made two changes to the team which lost 2-1 at Nottingham Forest last time out, though both were enforced, with Jack Grealish suspended and James Bree missing out on a home debut through injury.

Alan Hutton and Neil Taylor both came into the starting XI, the latter on debut following his deadline day switch from Swansea. There were also home debuts for Birkir Bjarnason, Hourihane and Scott Hogan with Villa again lining up in a 3-5-2 formation.

Hourihane would have maked the occasion with a first goal in Villa colours inside it the opening ten minutes were it not for the brilliance of Bialkowski, who sprang into action twice in the space of 60 seconds to deny the hosts.

The keeper first denied Lansbury with a diving save away to his left after the midfielder had been quickest to react to a blocked free-kick and fired a volley toward goal.

Moments later he bettered it, somehow keeping out Hourihane's low driven effort after the ball had fallen perfectly for the Irishman ten yards out.

Next it was Bjarnason's turn to go close, the Iceland international clattering a shot off the bar after being presented with the ball in space on the edge of the box when a training ground free-kick routine had completely fooled the visiting defence.

Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia both went close for Villa but there was no way through before the break. Ipswich threatened only fleetingly and the most notable thing about their opening half was the loss of Steven Taylor and Christophe Berra, two of their starting back three, to injury.

It was one of the replacements, Spence, who should have put the visitors ahead before the hour mark. The defender poked his shot wide after Villa failed to clear a corner, as the visitors enjoyed their best spell of the game.

Indeed, there was an extended period when they looked the more likely to score as Villa's performance tailed off badly.

Bruce introduces both Albert Adomah and Andre Green from the bench and the hosts belatedly began to rediscover some rhythm.

As the game entered the final ten minutes, Baker thought he had put Villa ahead only to see his header hacked off the line by David McGoldrick.

Then came the sucker punch, as Ipswich broke, McGoldrick crossed a Huws fired home to steal the points.

Key moments

8 - Ipswich keeper Bartosz Bialkowski pulls off two superb saves in the space of 60 seconds, first palming behind Henri Lansbury's half volley from the edge of the box. From the corner, the ball falls to Conor Hourihane who drives it low and hard toward goal from ten yards out. But Bialkowski proves equal to it.

21 - Villa hit the woodwork. A training ground free-kick routine sees Lansbury roll the ball to Bjarnason on the edge of the box. In acres of space, he clatters a shot off the bar.

31 - Scott Hogan finds space 25 yards from goal but sends his shot wide of the post.

36 - Ipswich striker David McGoldrick's shot from distance is deflected wide off Nathan Baker.

50 - Jonathan Kodjia shoots straight at Bialkowski from outside the box.

58 - Villa have a narrow escape as, after Huws sees a shot deflected just wide, Jordan Spence pokes from six yards when the hosts fail to clear the corner.

81 - Nathan Baker's header is cleared off the line by David McGoldrick.

83 - GOAL Ipswich take the lead as Emyr Huws fires home David McGoldrick's cross.

Teams

Villa (3-5-2): Johnstone, Elphick (Bacuna 88), Chester, Baker, Hutton (Adomah 67), Hourihane, Lansbury, Bjarnason, Taylor (Green 77), Hogan, Kodjia Subs not used: Gardner, Amavi, Davis, Bunn (gk).

Ipswich (3-5-2): Bialkowski, Taylor (Kenlock 25), Chambers ©, Berra (Spence 45), Knudsen, Ward, Diagouraga, Huws, Emmanuel, McGoldrick, Lawrence Subs not used: Pitman, Bru, Sears, Moore, Gerken (gk).