Blackburn Rovers suffered back-to-back Championship defeats as they were beaten 4-3 in a pulsating match at Portman Road.

Rovers were their own worst enemies in the first half and conceded three goals for the second time in a week before the break. Arnor Sigurdsson's debut goal was a brief respite from the Tractor Boys' dominance, with Harry Clarke, Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst on the scoresheet.

Jon Dahl Tomasson sent the team out early for the second half and they rallied with an own goal from Clarke getting them back in the game. It then took a miraculous save from Vaclav Hladky to keep Harry Leonard's header out.

However, Tomasson's side would find the leveller with 25 minutes of normal time to go through Szmodics' excellent strike but it turned out to be in vain. Aynsley Pears' punch dropped to Massimo Luongo 10 minutes from time and he fired into the top corner.

That proved enough for Kieran McKenna's side, who made it seven wins from eight in the Championship. For Tomasson and Rovers, it's back-to-back defeats in a disappointing week.

Rovers fans were buoyed by the inclusion of Sigurdsson for his full debut, the first competitive minutes he has played in blue and white halves. That was the only change despite Blackburn's squad facing a third match in seven days and it told.

With an expectant home crowd needing little encouragement to get excited, Rovers gave them the perfect tonic after only four minutes. Like midweek, they struggled to clear their lines from a corner and Clarke smashed one into the top corner. The pace of the strike beat Aynsley Pears at his near post.

Tomasson's side had settled quite well before that early setback and they wrestled back control with a fantastic, flowing move. Sam Szmodics played the ball into Lewis Travis, who drove forward inside the box and played a clever reverse pass for Sigurdsson, who finished eight yards out. It was a composed finish from the Icelandic forward and exactly what Rovers have missed.

Despite being pegged back, Ipswich looked threatening. The pace of Wes Burns and the trickery of Broadhead were causing problems for the full-backs and Adam Wharton, the sole defensive midfielder. 

It was a self-inflicted blow that gave the Tractor Boys the lead again though, with Pears making the rash decision to come off his line and try to clear a ball over the top. He misshit his clearance which was fed to Broadhead and he fired into the corner with Rovers goalkeeper unable to get himself set.

Portman Road was rocking and Ipswich's confidence went up a notch. They began to toy with Rovers in midfield, with the muscle of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo giving them a grip on the engine room.

A third goal soon followed and, as many fans would have feared, Hirst got himself on the scoresheet. Having seen his loan move to Ewood Park cut short in January with zero goals to his name, he raced through and poked past Pears. It was a simple ball that dissected the defence too easily but again, the goalkeeper could've perhaps been quicker off his line.

Hirst was causing major issues, with his pace stretching the Rovers' defence and leaving pockets for Conor Chaplin, Broadhead and Co to exploit. Wharton was overrun and the issues were glaring.

Rovers were sent out early for the second half and looked brighter as they rallied. They should've found a way back into the match when substitute Tyrhys Dolan had a clear sight of the goal but he hit Vladky from close range.

But Rovers would get some reward for their efforts as they halved the arrears. For the second time in a week, Callum Brittain's deep cross looked for Leonard but the ball deflected off Clarke's and went into the corner.

The striker would go so close to the equaliser shortly after, with the Town goalkeeper somehow keeping out his close-range diving header. It was a potentially match-winning save from Vladky, who had looked suspect with his distribution but showed brilliant reflexes to keep that out.

But Rovers would eventually find a route to parity. Szmodics produced a ruthless finish after a clever turn outside the area to draw Rovers level.

The remainder of the match was akin to a basketball game. Both sides traded blows with neither defence nor midfield showing any intent to tighten up.

With both sides chucking everything at it to win, it felt inevitable there would be another goal and that came for Ipswich. Pears' punch didn't clear the penalty area and Luongo brought the ball down to fire into the corner.

That proved to be the final goal-mouth action in a pulsating seven-goal thriller. It showed the very best and worst of Rovers and the risks and rewards attached to their style of play.

They will undoubtedly have to tighten up, though. No matter how good the football is, you can't need to score three goals every match to get a result.