Everton stretched their Premier League unbeaten run to four matches as Sean Dyche’s side saw off Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road.

The Toffees showed little sign of rustiness after the international break, as first-half goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Michael Keane set them on course for their second league victory of the season.

Ndiaye provided the spark on the road once again for Everton, as he netted in successive away games and, after Ipswich had a penalty awarded but then overturned following a VAR review, Keane produced a clever close-range finish to put the Toffees in control.

Ipswich showed signs of life after the restart, yet Conor Chaplin’s scuffed effort late on was the best they could muster, with Jordan Pickford largely untroubled and Everton spurning some decent chances to put the contest to bed at the other end.

Everton stay 16th but are now four points above Kieran McKenna’s side, who are struggling with the Premier League pace as one of four teams yet to win in 2024/25.

How the match unfolded

An IT issue at Portman Road forced a 15-minute delay to kick-off and there were early connection issues for the attackers when the game got going – Jack Clarke slicing over and Dominic Calvert-Lewin fluffing his lines against Arijanet Muric.

A defensive error gifted Calvert-Lewin that chance and another mistake handed Ndiaye his 17th-minute breakthrough. Wes Burns failed to deal with Jack Harrison's cross and Everton’s No 10 ruthlessly fired in his second Premier League goal.

There was more frustration for Ipswich when Clarke tumbled under pressure from Dwight McNeil, but referee Michael Oliver overturned his penalty decision following a VAR review.

Defensive issues were again Ipswich's downfall five minutes before the break, as McNeil teed up Keane, who lashed home from a tight angle.

Everton’s failure to add a third opened the door for a late Ipswich flurry, though Chaplin and Jack Taylor saw attempts routinely kept out by Pickford before Calvert-Lewin failed to beat Muric again right at the end.

Ndiaye has the grit and guile for Dyche’s Everton blueprint

Dyche’s reputation for setting up disciplined teams ensures a need for creativity to emerge and Ndiaye provides exactly that for Everton.

He is already a firm fan favourite and goals in back-to-back away matches will only help ender him to the travelling Toffees, alongside his swaggering style and mazy dribbles on the left side of Everton’s attack.

He took his goal clinically, just as he did at Leicester City last month, and he possibly could have done better with a second-half chance, which was kept out by Muric.

Crucially for a player working under Dyche, the Senegal international is showing both an ability to make an impact in attack and help out in defence.

As Ipswich carried an improved attacking threat in the second period, Ndiaye readily dropped back to shield left-back Vitalii Mykolenko.

Dyche demands a rounded performance from his attackers and Ndiaye’s opening goal was balanced against his willingness to dig in as needed, and he was well worth the adulation from the away supporters when he was taken off in the 82nd minute.

Portman pressure weighs heavy on Delap

Liam Delap fed off scraps as the focal point of Ipswich’s attack, against a resolute Everton backline, with the hosts failing to register a shot on target before he was replaced in the 79th minute.

The former Manchester City forward has scored four of Ipswich’s six Premier League goals this season.

Three of his strikes have come at home, with the 21-year-old relishing the challenge of proving himself at the top level. However, he was kept under lock and key by Keane and James Tarkowski this time around and Ipswich just could not find a way to get their talisman involved.

Second-half run-ins with Pickford and Abdoulaye Doucoure, with Delap barging into both of them when challenging for loose balls were the hallmarks of an emerging player short on in-game options.

Confidence is low at Portman Road, as the excitement of a top-flight comeback makes way for the reality of Premier League demands, and Delap, for all his bustle and undoubted quality, needs help from elsewhere.

Club reports

Ipswich report | Everton report

Match officials

Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Darren Bond. VAR: Graham Scott. Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis.