The Owls Under-23s endured a frustrating afternoon against Ipswich, going down 3-1 at Playford Road in a contest from which we merited at least a point.

Manuel Hidalgo gave Wednesday a deserved first half lead after Ben Hughes missed an early penalty and the visitors went on to dominate.

But Town levelled just before half time through Ross Crane and the contest seemed to be heading for a stalemate.

The Owls were stunned, though, when Brett McGavin and Corrie Endaba added two late goals to give the scoreline a flattering look and Ipswich the points.

It could have been a flying start for Wednesday when we were awarded a penalty inside the first minute but Hughes saw his spot-kick well saved by Adam Przybek.

Trialist Callum Huxley smashed a free kick against the crossbar five minutes later as Wednesday showed positive signs of recovery from the early setback.

And midway through the opening period, we hit the front with a fantastic Hidalgo strike from distance.

But just as the Owls sought to put some real daylight between the teams, we took a sucker punch when Crane levelled from a corner just before the break.

Wednesday played against a strong wind and driving rain in the second half and the hosts adapted well to the conditions, growing grew more and more into the game.

The Owls’ backline held firm and soaked up the pressure, with the smart money on a point apiece.

But Ipswich hit a late double to keep their place at the top of the PDL2 South League table.

Both goals came from set pieces as first McGavin fired a free kick home on 84 minutes and then Endaba applied the final coating of gloss with a header from another corner on 87 to make it 3-1.

Wednesday: Jackson, Dawodu, Brennan, Urhoghide, Galvin, Waldock, Reaney, Hidalgo, Huxley (trialist), Hughes, Brown-Sterling (trialist)