Perhaps the alarm bells at Crystal Palace can ring a little less loudly. This was a controlled, confident victory against opponents who barely scored a goal, easing the pressure on Oliver Glasner and suggesting that any real fears of relegation may well be short-lived. Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal, scored just before the hour mark, delivered exactly what they deserved and cast a pall of early winter gloom over Portman Road.

Ipswich usually put teams under pressure here but were combative and subdued, with Kieran McKenna fearing they looked a class below the visitors throughout. At the start the teams were level on points, but if the Suffolk team cannot find a way to keep up with Palace’s opponents with physical strength and courage, they are dead. They still have to win at home, and the time will soon come when at least A few wins are needed to keep the local spirits high.

In freezing temperatures, the question arose at kick-off as to whether one of the two teams could light the fire in the relegation battle. Ipswich always knew the season would be such a challenge, with their boss having failed so far due to their inability to convert consistent performances into results. It is the timeless concern of practical but toothless advertised parties. A series of injuries have done little to help, with the latest injury to influential right-back Axel Tuanzebe handing local native Harry Clarke a start in the team.

Ambitions had been higher for Palace in August and for Glasner the hope was that the euphoria of Saturday’s dramatic draw against Newcastle would provide a boost of its own. They had missed the stardust of Eberechi Eze and it was welcome that he was ready to start a second game in four days after a month’s break.

The strengths of both teams in transition were obvious: Jack Clarke and Liam Delap played for Ipswich and their centre-back Jacob Greaves returned from injury to head a dangerous throw from Eze past Mateta. Harry Clarke then played Wes Burns superbly into space but the winger, perhaps slowed by a slippery surface, slipped with his teammates waiting for action.

Delap, a 21-year-old back, caused Maxence Lacroix to collapse after being late to a bouncing ball. The home crowd was outraged by a series of free kicks awarded to Palace. It was clear they had to endure a clash and the first crucial moment came in the 23rd minute when an Eze free-kick caused confusion until Dara O’Shea intervened.

Palace began to set the tone, Eze found his pockets and seemed more and more comfortable. Greaves blocked a volley from Cheick Doucouré and Ipswich were now struggling to keep hold of the ball. In the resulting corner, Doucouré threw a second ball into the penalty area, allowing Trevoh Chalobah to head the game’s first serious chance high.

Shortly afterwards, an errant pass from Ipswich led to Tyrick Mitchell crossing and Greaves parrying Daniel Muñoz’s miss. Then Palace should have scored when Eze, released by Mateta, found Arijanet Muric on the ground but allowed the goalkeeper to save. There was only one team in the game at the time, although Doucouré, already booked, was lucky to avoid further punishment after hitting Jens Cajuste. Eventually Ipswich became dangerous, Clarke’s header just wide of the post forcing Dean Henderson to make a clever stop.

They were well below their pulsating best but started the second half with pace as Delap headed Burns’ cross towards Henderson. Glasner had unsurprisingly replaced Doucouré with Jefferson Lerma; Whether it was coincidence or not, Ipswich started to splash the ball around without causing undue trouble, but there was a feeling that the visitors needed to hit harder and harder and the proof soon came.

When an Ipswich attack failed, Palace broke through on the left and Eze fed Mateta on the inside. He had a lot to do, but after outpacing and muscularly overtaking the previously impressive Greaves with surprising ease, he was confronted by Muric and finished the race cold.

The timing was bad for Ipswich, who usually don’t let games get by them. They struggled to assert themselves physically, which is not an unknown issue. McKenna made a triple substitution but Mateta quickly had the chance to get the job done with Muric stopping with his legs and keeping his team alive.

Ipswich sensed a reprieve and pushed Palace back in concert for the first time. Omari Hutchinson twice missed good cross positions and in the 87th minute a Greaves header landed at the far post with no one taking care of it. But it wasn’t enough and the Eagles will now wonder if their campaign has finally gained traction.