AN absorbing encounter between two of the Championship's best footballing sides gave both outfits cause for joy and regret.

West Ham will reflect on a First-half performance of rare quality and rue the combination of missed chances and defensive excellence that prevented them adding to Malky Mackay's first-ever goal in Claret and Blue.

But they might also consider that they came perilously close to losing their way entirely in the second half as the visitors showed why they are serious promotion rivals again this season.

First the good news: when Hammers were good, they were excellent. Vibrant attacking play on both flanks had Ipswich under pressure even before Mackay opened the scoring in the 11th minute.

The goal came from a Mattie Etherington corner, half-cleared by Town before the defence switched off to allow Luke Chadwick the freedom of the right-hand channel.

His cross picked out the unmarked Mackay, and the former Norwich City stalwart stooped to head home his fourth goal in his last three appearances against the Suffolk side.

At the other end, Darren Bent almost replied at once when he outjumped Chris Powell to head across goal, but with Stephen Bywater beaten his effort drifted beyond the far post. It was a second miss for Bent, who had earlier fired Ian Westlake's cross into Bywater's legs.

But it was Chadwick and Etherington who were making the biggest impact in a fluent West Ham display. Only the legs of Richard Naylor depriv-ed Etherington the opportunity to deliver telling crosses as his pace and trickery threatened to run Ipswich ragged.

When Naylor was exposed, visiting keeper Kelvin Davis repeatedly excelled himself with a flurry of fine saves. First he got down well to push Nigel Reo-Coker's skidding, deflected 30-yarder round the post on the half-hour.

Three minutes later an Eth-erington corner wreaked hav-oc, but after Davis combined with Pable Counago to hack away a goalbound Mackay header the goalie reacted superbly to Teddy Shering-ham's instinctive swivel and shot from inside the six-yard box.

But it seemed he had undone all that good work in the next phase of play as Chadwick sent Fletcher haring into the box and into the teeth of Davis' reckless lunge.

If the Ipswich man was lucky to escape further punishment from the referee, his fortune knew no limits when Sheringham sent him the wrong way before placing the spot-kick an inch outside of the left-hand upright.

The reprieve lifted Ipswich and they ended the half with a Tommy Miller drive producing a fine one-handed save from Bywater.

And after the break they upped the tempo, with Bent going close early on before Counago marked his first start of the season with a neatly-taken goal. Miller had seen his close-range effort scrambled behind, and from the 57th-minute corner the Spaniard held off the attentions of Fletcher before turning and placing a low shot through the midfielder's legs to deceive the unsighted Bywater.

At the other end Marlon Harewood was his usual frustrating self: neat tricks but little end product. One surging run enabled Sheringham to shoot and another produced a free-kick similar to the one which sank Rotherham.

This time, though, Sheringham drilled it into the wall and Ipswich's quick break ended with Bent smacking a lob on to the crossbar.

Harewood lost out twice more in the closing stages, denied first by Naylor then Jason de Vos but his worst moment came with seven minutes to play.

Etherington powered to the by-line and drove a fierce cross in front of goal, but neither Harewood's glancing touch nor Calum Davenport's back-post lunge could divert it home.

* For quotes and match analysis see Monday's Evening Echo.