Nathan Broadhead netted his first goal in the Premier League as Ipswich emerged victorious over struggling Bournemouth with a score of 2-1, injecting fresh hope into their fight for survival.
Bournemouth, aiming to recover from their defeat in the FA Cup quarter-finals against Manchester City, welcomed back defenders Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez from suspension.
On the other side, Ipswich had to do without Leif Davis and Omari Hutchinson, while former England midfielder Kalvin Phillips was only fit enough for a spot on the bench.
Despite dominating possession early on, Bournemouth's passing lacked sharpness, falling short of manager Andoni Iraola's expectations.
A corner delivered by Lewis Cook posed a threat to Ipswich's defense, prompting a clearance by Dara O’Shea.
O’Hara then had to intervene to divert Dango Outtara’s dangerous low delivery for another corner, as Alex Scott was poised to score.
In the 26th minute, Evanilson seemed poised to score after a pass from Outtara, but O’Shea managed to block his shot.
Breaking their streak of five consecutive league defeats, Ipswich created their first goal-scoring opportunity when Ben Johnson played a ball over the defense, narrowly missing Liam Delap.
Julio Enciso, on loan from Brighton, unleashed a long-distance shot that sailed over the frame, showing Ipswich's growing threat.
O’Shea came to the rescue once more by clearing Scott’s close-range shot off the line, followed by a brilliant save by Palmer to deny the midfielder’s second attempt.
Moments later, Broadhead surprised everyone by putting McKenna's team in the lead.
Enciso bypassed a group of defenders and fed Broadhead, who outplayed Dean Huijsen and slotted the ball through Kepa Arrizabalaga's legs.
Scott came close to equalizing for Bournemouth at the start of the second half with a powerful strike that Palmer tipped over the bar.
Delap then extended Ipswich's lead with his 11th Premier League goal of the season in the 60th minute, wrapping up a brilliant move.
Although Bournemouth initially received a penalty after Antoine Semenyo was brought down by Axel Tuanzabe, VAR correctly intervened, concluding that the foul occurred outside the box.
Nonetheless, the Cherries managed to pull one back 23 minutes from time when Evanilson capitalized on a rebound after Palmer parried Cook’s initial shot.