Morgan Whittaker repaid Rob Edwards’ faith with his first goal for the club to send them back to the top of the Championship after a chaotic 2-1 win over Ipswich.

Edwards publicly backed Whittaker after his substitution was cheered by fans against Preston in September, and he was proven right in emphatic fashion.

Boro had Cedric Kipre to thank for the lead prior to Whittaker’s strike after he turned the ball into his own net less than two minutes after his team-mate George Hirst was denied from the penalty spot.

The hosts went into the contest looking for their first win in four games and, after a slow start, they were left scratching their heads as to how they managed to go until first-half stoppage time before taking the lead.

Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer produced four incredible saves in the space of five minutes to keep parity, and he looked set to be rewarded for his heroics when Leif Davis went down the other end and won a penalty following a clumsy challenge from Callum Brittain.

Jeers and sirens rang around the Riverside Stadium as Hirst stepped up and, not to be outdone by Palmer, Sol Brynn leaped to his right to save the spot-kick to prevent the visitors from taking the lead.

Before the Riverside had stopped celebrating, Kipre’s moment of disaster compounded Ipswich’s woes and gave home fans even more to celebrate, as he was unable to untangle his legs when Delano Burgzorg fired in a low ball across the six-yard box.

Middlesbrough did not slow down after the break and Whittaker started and finished the move for their second goal in the 55th minute. The 24-year-old found David Strelec, who may have just been offside, before continuing his run into the penalty area and firing home after Palmer had pushed out Strelec’s cross.

Dara O’Shea did pop up with a goal for Ipswich with a quarter of an hour remaining, just the second Middlesbrough have conceded at home this term. But it was not enough to spark a comeback as Boro remained stern despite late pressure to hold on.

The result means Ipswich, were unable to capitalise on a chance to climb into the play-off spots, and now find themselves at risk of dropping back into the bottom half of the table come the end of the weekend’s fixtures.

Middlesbrough meanwhile snap their three-game winless run and, at least until Coventry take on Blackburn on Saturday, move back to the summit of the Championship, somewhere that Paul Merson believes that they should be.

Merson: Edwards’ experience could be vital for Middlesbrough

Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:

“Middlesbrough are one of the big teams in the Championship. There is no doubt about that and they have been in it too long now.

“Rob Edwards knew he had a big job on his hands when he arrived at the club but he’s started very well.

“When you are in the Championship, you have to go in blocks. They’ve had 10 games and they’ve got a good return.

“If they can get through another 10 games with a similar return then you are halfway there. You’ve just got to keep going block by block.

“They are going to lose games. Whatever happens in this league you drop points, but it is about how quickly you bounce back. As soon as you go three or four games without a win, then it is a struggle.

“It’s a gruelling season but Edwards has the experience. He’s taken Luton to the Premier League and that makes a big difference when you get to the business end of the season.”

Whittaker: Goal a weight off my shoulders after lonely time

Middlesbrough’s Morgan Whittaker speaking with Sky Sports:

“It’s such a relief. First off I want to thank the gaffer for believing in me. And secondly, my close circle around me. They’ve been a massive help this period of time and I just want to thank them.

“To get my first goal is such a weight off my shoulders. Hopefully I can take that into the next game.

“It’s been very, very tough. Very lonely and very tough. That’s why I wanted to thank the people I’ve thanked because they’ve helped massively and I just want to kick on from now.”

The managers

Middlesbrough’s Rob Edwards:

“I didn’t know what to think [after conceding penalty]. I was still really pleased with the performance and I was thinking ‘okay, we’ll need to regroup somehow’.

“Football’s about moments. An amazing save and then a couple of minutes later we are going 1-0 up at the break. It’s a funny game.

“There are games tomorrow. Things can change, we know. It’s a good return from 10 games. I’m really pleased with the performances. The work-rate of the players. The duels. Some of the stuff that delighted me tonight was the blocks we got in. Some of the things that might go unnoticed.”

On chances created: “I started getting questioned. We had a tough game away at Southampton. We drew a blank against Stoke. Lost 1-0 against Portsmouth. The questions from the media are about goalscoring. We’re solid, but football’s about finding a balance. We want to be solid and we want to create lots of chances. So tonight was pleasing that we were able to do that.”

On Whittaker: “It’s a really nice moment for him. He works so hard. In football you get tested. There’s a lot expected of him because he’s a really good player. I’m really pleased for him tonight.”

Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna:

“We didn’t do enough to win the game, or we did too many wrong things to win. Of course it could have been different, we could easily have got the first goal, not just with a penalty but with a few chances before that. But we made too many mistakes in the game, allowed the game to become really, really frantic.

“When it did become open it became really, really tough.

“We didn’t find enough as a team. We know we need to keep working to get stronger, to be honest, especially in these tough away moments.”

On away form: “It’s a small sample. You don’t want to get too far ahead, but I think the reality is when you do have a new group, and players new to the league and the club, of course it’s easier at home with your people behind you.

“A team that’s been together longer, and has been through more experience can naturally handle the difficult challenges of away games in this league.”

Edwards’ side show bounce-back-ability

Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:

It is often said that a marker of a team’s championship capabilities is that they are able to win while they play well.

Make no mistake, Middlesbrough played incredibly well against what many expected to be a tough test in Ipswich. However, it’s the context surrounding the performance that is all the more impressive.

Having gone three games without a win beforehand – failing to score in two of them – another contest without maximum points could have heaped some serious pressure on Middlesbrough. Yet, Edwards was able to shut out the noise and come up with a masterplan that worked to perfection.

The scoreline suggests a close game. But look deeper and you will see that a Boro team impacted by the international break were in command throughout. The fact that the stars of the show where Hayden Hackney, a player who turned down Ipswich to stay at the Riverside, and Morgan Whittaker, someone who Edwards has shown immense faith in, only gives the table-toppers even more vigour.

The Championship is a brutal league. To make any prediction in October would be foolish. But, Middlesbrough have at least shown the spirit needed to be at the forefront of any promotion talk.