Ipswich Town did manage to decrease the distance between themselves and Middlesbrough by a point in recent midweek fixtures, but Kieran McKenna will be disappointed that his side couldn’t get any closer.

The Tractor Boys played in what was undoubtedly the round’s best game at the bet365 Stadium, coming back from two goals down at halftime to lead 3-2 with eight minutes remaining.

Eric Bocat’s own goal, combined with strikes from Jack Taylor and George Hirst, put Ipswich on the verge of a huge come-from-behind victory, their first since a 3-2 victory against Southampton on Easter Monday two seasons ago.

However, Lamine Cisse was declared to have been felled in the box in second-half stoppage time, resulting in Milan Smit’s second goal of the game from 12 yards in the 96th minute to ensure a draw.

Ipswich are currently only four points away from automatic promotion when Middlesbrough were defeated by Charlton Athletic the next day, but it might easily be a two-point margin now, especially given that the equalising penalty should not have been awarded in the first place.

Ipswich Town suffered a double blow following Stoke City’s penalty ruling.

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has stated that he and the club have received an apology from the PGMOL for the penalty decision that went against his team on Tuesday night, which was incorrect.

Unfortunately, the apologies cannot change the verdict and give Ipswich the victory. What it cannot do is reverse the yellow card Cedric Kipre received in the aftermath.

That caution was the 29-year-old’s tenth of the season, and it means he’ll miss the next two games against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, as well as a crucial encounter against Millwall the following week.

With the fight for promotion coming down to the wire, the encounter against Alex Neil’s team will be crucial in determining who will press on and challenge Middlesbrough for their automatic promotion berth in the final few games of the season.

And, with the cut-off point for 10 yellow cards coming after the game against the Owls, there was a chance Kipre might have been rested for what is, on paper, a winnable game without him ahead of the following week, rather than risk receiving his tenth booking.

Prior to this weekend, the Ivorian centre-back had started 20 consecutive Championship games, establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet at Portman Road.

He won’t be able to return until after the March international break, and the fact that he received a yellow card for a foul that was later determined not to be a foul makes it even more difficult for Ipswich.

The Stoke City decision was the first of two controversial penalty decisions involving Cedric Kipre in a week.

Ipswich will feel like the world is against them right now, and they will also believe that if two late penalty decisions had gone their way in the last two games, they would be in the top two.

Ironically, Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury’s challenge in the Ipswich area late in the game on Saturday was against Kipre. However, the punishment was not imposed at the time, much to the dismay of the majority of individuals present on Portman Road.

If it was given and converted, and the penalty was correctly not given on Tuesday night, Ipswich would be equal on points with Middlesbrough, with a game in hand as well.

Instead, they are four games behind, and one of their starting center-backs is sidelined for two.

It simply goes to illustrate how tight the margins are at the top end of the Championship as we approach the end of the season. Ipswich will hope that these choices do not cost them promotion, but as things stand, they have every reason to be upset.