“GOLD...always believe!”

The chorus to the Spandau Ballet classic was a fitting tribute belted out by Cherries’ army of travelling supporters to goal hero Kenwyne Jones.

New loan signing Jones came off the bench to grab Eddie Howe’s men a richly-deserved share of the spoils following an absorbing Good Friday contest at Portman Road.

See all of our pictures in a gallery here.

Having been toppled from top spot following Middlesbrough’s win against Wigan, Cherries had been staring down the barrel of a potentially-costly defeat after conceding a sloppy sixth-minute opener.

However, with his first telling contribution and just seconds after coming on, Jones headed home Matt Ritchie’s corner with eight minutes remaining to finally reward Cherries’ litany of goalscoring chances.

Earlier, Freddie Sears’s early strike had handed the hosts the advantage and only an inspired display from Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski prevented Cherries from reaching the break at least on level terms, while a top-drawer save late on denied Yann Kermorgant a dramatic winner.

Brett Pitman and Ryan Fraser were restored to the Cherries starting line-up as boss Howe made two changes following the emphatic win over Middlesbrough before the international break.

Pitman replaced Kermorgant, who dropped to the bench, while Fraser was drafted in for Marc Pugh, who failed to recover from an ankle injury sustained against Boro.

Although Cherries made a bright start, with Pitman and Fraser both involved early on, they went behind after just six minutes when an unmarked Sears drew first blood for the hosts.

The striker was on hand to sweep the ball past Artur Boruc from close range after Daryl Murphy had been allowed time and space to control a Cole Skuse cross and provide the assist, his centre taking a slight deflection off Fraser.

As Cherries went in search of an immediate response, an effort from an acute angle from Andrew Surman flashed across the face of the goalmouth.

Pitman was tantalisingly close to connecting with a cross from Charlie Daniels before Harry Arter fired over the top having been teed up by Matt Ritchie.

And leading marksman Callum Wilson also got in on the act, only to see his blistering drive charged down by a defender, while Ritchie blazed a half-chance over the crossbar.

Anxious glances were made in the direction of referee Robert Madley after Steve Cook had challenged Bishop inside the penalty area, the tackle deemed fair by the official.

Town skipper Luke Chambers collected the first booking of the contest for a robust challenge on Fraser, a decision met with derision by the Portman Road faithful.

Pitman side-footed tamely into the hands of Town goalkeeper Bialkowski after a ricochet had fallen invitingly at his feet midway through the first half.

Bialkowski pulled off a fine save to thwart Fraser, the Polish stopper pushing the Scotsman’s away for a corner following good work between Simon Francis and Ritchie.

Arter was deservedly booked for a foul on Jay Tabb before a back-tracking Bialkowski was forced to tip behind Fraser’s cross-shot from near the touchline.

The busy Bialkowski parried Ritchie’s thunderous drive from 30 yards into the path of Fraser, who was only able to loft the follow up wide of the target.

Despite reaching the interval having enjoyed the better of the first half in terms of shots and possession, Cherries trailed by the only statistic which mattered.

Ipswich goalscorer Sears carved out the first chance of the second period, although his strike following a run at the Cherries defence rolled harmlessly past the upright.

Bialkowski raced off his line and stuck out his right hand to parry from Daniels before snaffling a low drive from Arter. And as Cherries continued to probe, Fraser’s first-time effort struck a defender.

Luke Varney had been a virtual spectator until he tried his luck with a left-foot strike on the hour, his effort failing to trouble Boruc as it sailed over the crossbar.

Kermorgant was thrust into the action as a 65th-minute replacement for Pitman before Tommy Elphick required treatment following a clash of heads with Richard Chaplow.

Wilson appeared to be held back by Tommy Smith as he looked to fashion an opening inside the penalty box but referee Madley was unmoved and Ipswich cleared the danger.

Cherries’ new loan signing Jones was unleashed from the bench with 12 minutes remaining, a double switch also seeing Adam Smith come on.

Varney charged down Elphick’s intended clearance and tried to slip the ball past Boruc, but the Cherries goalkeeper managed to turn his shot past the post with his outstretched left hand.

Cherries were finally rewarded for their endeavours when Jones outjumped the Ipswich defence to power a header past Bialkowski from Ritchie’s corner eight minutes from time.

And on the balance of play, it was no more than Howe’s men had deserved, with only a well-drilled Ipswich rearguard preventing the equaliser from coming earlier in the game.

Kermorgant went close to grabbing a dramatic last-gasp winner when he climbed to meet another Ritchie corner but Bialkowski dived full-length to claw it out of the top corner.

And after the ball had run free to Smith, his scrambled shot at the far post was hacked away by Skuse as Ipswich held on for what was a fortuitous share of the spoils.

MATCH FACTS

Cherries: Boruc 7.5, Francis 7.5, Cook 7.5 (Jones, 78), Elphick 8, Daniels 7.5, Ritchie 7, Arter 7.5, Surman 7, Fraser 7 (Smith, 78), Wilson 7.5, Pitman 7 (Kermorgant, 65).

Unused subs: Gosling, MacDonald, Ward, Camp (g/k).

Booked: Arter.

Ipswich: Bialkowski, Chambers, Smith, Berra, Fryers, Tabb, Skuse, Bishop (Chaplow, 57), Varney (Clarke, 90), Sears (Wood, 78), Murphy.

Unused subs: McGoldrick, Anderson, Williams, Gerken (g/k).

Booked: Chambers.

Referee: Robert Madley (Wakefield).

Attendance: 22,672.

Star man – Tommy Elphick

Although Cherries would have been disappointed with their defending for the Ipswich goal, they restricted the hosts to little more than half-chances for the remainder of the contest.

Skipper Elphick was the mainstay of their backline as Cherries ensured Daryl Murphy, the Championship’s leading goalscorer, hardly had a sniff of goal.

Authoritative, dominant and composed, Elphick led by example as Cherries had the upper hand for long periods before deservedly grabbing their equaliser.

Up front, Callum Wilson again worked tirelessly and gave the Ipswich defence plenty to ponder, while Harry Arter was a model of commitment in midfield.