Kevin Schade’s first-half header earned Brentford a 1-0 victory at Ipswich, boosting their hopes of securing European football next season and extending their winning streak to four Premier League matches for the first time.

Thomas Frank’s side climbed to eighth in the table with the win, moving above Bournemouth ahead of Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa. The result also marked a six-game unbeaten run for the Bees, who are now dreaming of UEFA Conference League qualification, dependent on Crystal Palace’s FA Cup final result against Manchester City.

Schade, fresh off a brace against Manchester United last weekend, made the decisive contribution by steering a looping header past Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer from Bryan Mbeumo’s corner midway through the first half.

“We need a perfect run-in,” Frank said post-match. “It demands two top performances against difficult opponents, but it’s always been our aim to finish as high as possible. We’re dreaming.”

Brentford nearly added to their lead, with Mikkel Damsgaard dragging a shot just wide before Palmer made sharp saves to deny Yoane Wissa and Schade in the second half.

Ipswich rallied late, hitting the post through Omari Hutchinson and forcing a strong save from Mark Flekken after a Cameron Burgess effort, but Brentford held firm to keep their European hopes alive with two games remaining, home to Fulham and away to Wolves.

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