Ipswich Town cut the gap to second place in the Championship to only three points as they eased to a 3-0 victory over Swansea City.

Anis Mehmeti drilled home an early opener from just inside the box before Ivan Azon rolled a curling shot into the far corner to double the home side's advantage late in the first half.

Swansea struggled to produce a response and any chance of a late revival was wiped out when substitute George Hirst steered in the third goal 16 minutes from time.

Ipswich's second successive league win – and a third in the past six attempts – boosts their top-two prospects as they chase an immediate return to the Premier League.

Kieran McKenna's side stay fourth in the table, but have a game in hand on second-placed Middlesbrough and have played two fewer than Millwall, who are third.

Swansea slip to 16th having seen their struggles on the road continue, with Ipswich seizing the early initiative when the recalled Leif Davis galloped down the left before his low cross was only half-cleared by Ben Cabango.

Mehmeti latched on to the loose ball and delivered an emphatic finish, driving a shot high into the net.

Swansea thought they had equalised when Gustavo Nunes tapped in from Melker Widell's low cross only for the Swede to be flagged offside, and with that Ipswich resumed control.

Dan Neil and Azon drew saves from Lawrence Vigouroux before some weak Swansea defending allowed Azon to score from a tight angle.

Vitor Matos' team did not fold, with Malick Yalcouye and Liam Cullen denied by goalkeeper Christian Walton, but Ipswich made certain of victory when the impressive Mehmeti dispossessed Josh Tymon and squared for Hirst to claim his eighth goal of the season.

Swansea's best effort came with the last kick of the game, as leading scorer Zan Vipotnik - who began the day on the bench - smashed a free-kick against the bar.

This was a first home outing since January for Ipswich, who have been formidable opponents on their own ground this season.

Charlton Athletic are the only visiting side who have won at Portman Road in 2025-26, and Swansea never looked like changing that record as Ipswich claimed an 11th victory in 17 home league games since they dropped out of the top flight last May.

Even with leading scorer Jack Clarke beginning on the bench – and 10-goal Jaden Philogene again absent through injury – Ipswich had too much attacking menace for a Swansea side who slipped to a ninth defeat in their past 11 away fixtures.

Middlesbrough have the chance to respond when they go to Birmingham City on Monday, but Ipswich – who have played fewer games than any other side in the division – are nicely placed as the run-in approaches.

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna:

"A good performance. I thought the boys went at it with a lot of humility, recognised exactly what the opponent was and what we needed to do.

"That meant first half a really aggressive high press, man to man. We put together some really good moves through the pitch ourselves and got the goals.

"Second half we needed to stay humble, defend, limit them and know we would get some big opportunities of our own.

"There were some lovely passages of play against a good opponent who contributed to the game as well."

Swansea head coach Vitor Matos:

"Ipswich is a good team. They played much better than us. I think they are probably the hardest opponent we have faced in terms of quality.

"We tried to compete, we tried to start with fresh legs. That was quite important, to try to get the intensity we want. We weren't able to.

"They scored early. They got more comfortable and we needed to go chasing the result.

"First half was completely dominated by them. Second half we came with a different spirit, much more aggressive, more front-footed. The subs came on and tried to have an impact but they ended up 3-0. They were better than us."