It had the billing to be a high scoring contest when the teamsheet was announced before kick-off with the likes of Sam Bell, Tommy Conway and Ayman Benarous spearheading the attack.
With the potential to cement their position at the top of the table, Bristol City Under-23s were taking no chances against their opposition who knew they would leapfrog them at the summit had they picked up three points.
Josh Owers and Dylan Kadji, both who have travelled with the first-team in recent weeks, marshalled the midfield with the likes of George Tanner earning more minutes on his road to recovery and Max O'Leary taking the spot in goal.
A sold-out High Performance Centre watched the young Robins fall to a 1-0 defeat against Ipswich and ultimately sacrifice their first spot as Matt Ward's first-half goal was the difference in a tightly-fought contest.
Nigel Pearson was in attendance and was joined by the likes of Dan Bentley, Nahki Wells, Jay Dasilva, Antoine Semenyo and Zak Vyner who made sporadic appearances throughout the game to cheer on the next generation.
It was a game of missed opportunities as we look at how the players on the fringes of the first-team performed ahead of the final five games of the season.
Tommy Conway
He is regular on the City bench in the senior side and reminded the manager and supporters of his potential against Bournemouth when he assisted Andi Weimann in a 10-minute cameo against Bournemouth last month.
He has only played 18 senior Championship minutes this season but he was handed the full match and the perfect opportunity to impress in front of his peers alongside Sam Bell on Tuesday.
It was a scrappy first half and one where Conway found difficult to get involved and create a clear-cut opportunity - both of which fell to centre-back Duncan Idehen who perhaps showed why he's a defender and not a striker when he fired wide with his weaker foot with the goal gaping.
He did show one glimpse of quality when he superbly linked up with Benarous, skipped past his man in the box and his delivery found Idehen who scuffed wide.
It was the second period when he sprung to life and was guilty of missing an absolute sitter that left him with his hands on his head.
Bell broke down the left, crossed the ball and all Conway had to do was stick it into the net from around two yards out. Somehow, it seemed to clip his heel diverting the ball into the arms of the keeper who was resigned to the equaliser.
Protests that the ball had crossed the line were futile and Ipswich somehow escaped with a clean sheet thanks to a big slice of luck. Moments before he had a chance with his head but it looped over the crossbar.
Conway's movement did cause issues at times, especially in the second half but he lost the physical battle up against Ipswich's defensive brutes. It was a tough day at the office for the striker and in any other game he surely would have had his name on the scoresheet.
Sam Bell
Refreshing to see him in his favoured striker role instead of playing at right wing-back and there were certainly glimpses to suggest he has a bright future - although perhaps just not yet.
Bell troubled the backline with his pace on occasions and pulled off a lovely piece of skill after 10 minutes to skip around his defender.
He was played in behind in the first half and had time and space to pick out a cross on the left side with Conway waiting in the middle but he overhit it when he should have done better in that situation.
It was the second half when he had a flurry of chances to find the equaliser but like his striker partner, it just wasn't to be his day.
He did nothing wrong when teeing up Conway who inexplicably found the keeper when it was easier to score but just minutes later he had his best chance of the game.
In an almost identical build-up, it was Benarous' cross who found Bell at the back post but he stuck it wide of the target when half the stand thought it was in.
In the 70th minute, Bell had another sighter but was denied by the onrushing goalkeeper Lewis Ridd. A little more composure and the young forward may have had his goal.
It's the sign of a good striker when they get their chances and Bell had another in which Ridd came out on top at his near post before seeing a shot blocked inside the area in the final couple of minutes of the contest.
He would have felt he could have earned a penalty when he used his pace to get himself into the box before being taken down by the defender from behind but the referee wasn't interested.
Ayman Benarous
The attacking midfielder looked to play in the hole behind the two strikers and pull the strings.
He took a hefty challenge in the opening couple of minutes by the defender which certainly let him know he was in a contest - unbelievably the referee was happy to let the game continue with the midfielder requiring treatment.
It was a quiet opening 45 minutes although provided a moment of quality when he linked up with Conway inside the area in which Idehen spurned the opportunity.
They needed to get him on the ball more in the second half and City did that to an extent with Benarous playing a key role in City's two best chances.
The first saw him play a pin-point pass to Bell before his cross was missed by Conway and then Benarous should have had an assist when his delivery was put wide by his team-mate at the back post.
He would later slip Bell in on goal but the keeper came out to make the stop by closing the angle. In the 72nd minute, he had a sighter himself having stung the palms of Ridd with a shot on the right side of the box.
In the 87th minute, his race was run when he was replaced by forward Prince Henry. In summary, Benarous can pick out a pass and has the ability to get himself his fair share of assists but he could have done more to stamp his authority on the game.
George Tanner
He made his comeback from injury last week, earning 45 minutes in front of a watching Pearson who would describe his performance as "rusty" in his press conference a couple of days after.
Tanner played on the right of a defensive three and got 60 minutes under his belt as he continued his recovery from a hamstring problem.
While his performance was certainly better than his showing at Watford last week, there's still evidence to suggest he needs more games at this level before returning to the senior squad.
Early on he put a simple pass into touch and later overhit a ball down the line when Bell was making the move. He did progressively get better as the contest went on and made a superb defensive header in the first half from a dangerous cross from the left.
Was fortunate not to deal with the pace of Ward, with Callum Wood handed that daunting task while Duncan Idehen was tasked dealing with the strength and power Tyreece Simpson for large periods.
One notable positive about Tanner's game is he is not shy in making a challenge, particularly after coming back from injury and he stuck his foot in on numerous times throughout the game to win the ball back.
Having been deployed in the back three, there wasn't much-attacking intent on show with Zac Bell taking up the wing-back role tasked with pushing forward when possible.
There was no great surprise to see him come off after the hour mark but judging by his comeback performance so far, it would be a stretch to see him in action over the Easter period and perhaps it would be better to wait until the start of next season before coming back into the senior fold.
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
