Brighton kept alive their slender hopes of avoiding relegation with a 2-1 victory over an out of sorts Ipswich at Portman Road.

The Seagulls went ahead in injury time before the interval with a left-foot shot on the turn by Gifton Noel-Williams who is on loan from Burnley.

Brighton had a stroke of luck in the 70th minute when Paul McShane made a splendid goalline clearance to deny Danny Haynes.

Four minutes later Brighton were two up. Colin Kazim-Richards fired against the post. Ipswich were unable to clear their lines and Paul Reid provided the opening for Joel Lynch to score from close range.

There was an 89th minute consolation for Ipswich when Nicky Forster scored with a header.

But the Seagulls' win meant Ipswich have collected just three points from a possible 21 since the start of March.

Forster appeared as a 61st-minute substitute for his first Championship appearance since December 28 since when he has undergone knee surgery.

Ipswich were handicapped by losing central defender Richard Naylor with concussion after 37 minutes.

Brighton manager Mark McGhee said: "We have only been beaten once in our last six games so we are in a decent bit of form.

"It has stemmed from the arrival of Gifton Noel-Williams on loan. We had been looking all over the place for a centre forward and tried everything. Gifton looks like a centre forward, does the job of a centre forward and has made us a better team. It's not rocket science, but it's probably too late.

"We have unrealistic prospects of staying up but playing Sheffield Wednesday in our next match gives us a chance.

"Then we meet Wolves who may be vulnerable before a home match with Stoke. If we play like we did today we can win all those final games.

"My job is to see the club into a new stadium in as high a division as possible and by spending as little money as we can by using young players and any we can secure by wheeling and dealing. I think that our supporters consider it a bit of a bonus our being in the Championship."

Ipswich boss Joe Royle said: "In the first half we were unlucky to be behind. The loss of Richard Naylor made a difference because he would have been marking tighter when they opened the scoring.

"In the second half we never got going until it was too late. It was a pivotal moment when they cleared off the line from Danny Haynes but all round we were not good enough.

"The consolation was that the performance was better than the one we gave against Stoke last week.

"At Christmas people were tipping us to go down but then we had a great run and were flirting with the play-offs. Injuries have played a big part. I'm not making excuses but there have been reasons.

"I shall be making changes for the visit to Watford on Monday to freshen us up a bit. Until last month we dominated midfield in every game we played. That's not the case now.

"It's been a muddling season with too many forced changes but I want it to end high on hope."