Liam Delap's ruthless double at Ipswich denies Aston Villa a share of top spot | first division

They may have to wait until they get their first win of the season but, on this evidence, Ipswich are not far away. Aston Villa were denied the chance to draw level with Liverpool on points in the first division summit with a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Portman Road, a Liam Delap goal in each half canceling out goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.

For fans who lived through the clubs' glory days in the 1980s, this match was steeped in deep nostalgia. With Villa dining at Europe's highest table for the first time since the 1982-83 campaign (the season after their European Cup triumph, and two seasons after they last won the league when Ipswich finished runners-up under Bobby Robson ), there were echoes of history everywhere.

Villa fans queued before kick-off to take photos with the statue of a smiling Robson outside the Cobbold Stand, commemorating the manager who so often planned victories against his team even in that golden era. From the moment Delap hit the near post with eight minutes on the clock, it was clear that, just as in Robson's time, Villa were in for a difficult afternoon in Suffolk.

Kieran McKenna made three changes to the side that got a draw at Southampton last weekend – Chiedozie Ogbene and Jack Clarke came in on the wings while Kalvin Phillips replaced Jens Ctuvo in midfield – while Unai Emery made one change to the team that beat the wolvesThe injured John McGinn makes way for Leon Bailey. Phillips and Clarke scored the first goal; the former took advantage of a loose pass from Ezri Konsa from behind and freed the latter to tee up Delap.

The stands erupted and the Ipswich fans were delighted with just their fourth league goal of the season. The euphoria had barely dissipated when Villa tied the score. A very misplaced clearance by Jacob Greaves, who arrived in the summer from Hull, found Rogers who, after a clear one-two with Watkins, fired a shot past Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric. “The first goal was a mistake, we're going to make it,” McKenna said. “A lot of our players are playing their first games in the Premier League and the cruelty of the execution to punish you when you make a mistake is really high.”

Ipswich puffed out his chest and reacted again. Axel Tuanzebe headed just over from a free-kick before Leif Davis, following an overlapping run down the left flank, delivered a dangerous cross which Clarke was unable to finish. However, Villa slowly began to turn the tide, asserting control with carefully constructed passing moves and patient possession. After just over half an hour, they took advantage of a crossing opportunity for Bailey who, after finding Watkins with a ball wide on the right, saw his team-mate heading towards Muric to give the visiting team the lead.

Ipswich took the lead once again, Emi Martínez made excellent saves to prevent a rebound from Phillips and then Delap one on one, but they could not find the equalizer before the break.

The home team maintained their pace in the second half, Clarke and Davis demonstrating a difficult combination on the left. Clarke made the best of his battle with Konsa, sliding into the inside channel to set up Davis, attacking from the outside, for a shot that whistled past the post.

Cracks began to appear in Villa's defensive structure before, in the 72nd minute, it fragmented. Omari Hutchinson spotted Delap in a vast expanse of space, again on the problematic left flank. Delap charged from behind and, turning Diego Carlos upside down with a subtle step, shot over Martínez and into the far post.

Emery admitted that his team lost control in the second half. “We can accept how difficult this league is,” he said. “Playing away from home, playing against a team like Ipswich… after getting promoted, they are excited, motivated, very tactically astute and play with confidence.”

Ipswich were half a yard away from taking the three points, Clarke ran and fed substitute Wes Burns to his right only for Pau Torres to run in and make a decisive block. The locals pushed hard to achieve victory, the game ended with a succession of corner kicks that should have left the traveling fans looking through their fingers, but it ended with honors. Ipswich's fourth consecutive draw was enough to lift them out of the relegation zone and give them hope of even better in the future.