Chris Wood may be the All Whites' leading striker, but fellow New Zealand international Tommy Smith was the crucial goalscorer when the two met in the English Championship on Wednesday morning.

Central defender Smith scored the only goal of the game for his Ipswich Town side against Leeds United with a close-range header in the first half to give the away side the victory.

ACTION IMAGES Tommy Smith scored the winner for Ipswich Town when they met Leeds on Wednesday (NZ time).

"It was a really good away performance and we're buzzing with the three points," Smith told the club website.

"We got back to our usual: hard work and grinding out results. If we can play that extra football on top of that then great, but it's all about picking up that three points.

"It's always nice to score a goal but it's the clean sheet that's most pleasing. As a back four, we have conceded too many goals recently so it's really nice to get that clean sheet."

Wood was unable to find an equaliser up front for Leeds, who were booed off by their own fans following the final whistle.

Smith's header came in the 32nd minute after Leeds goalkeeper Marco Silvestri failed to claim Ryan Fraser's corner, and the ball ricocheted back across the six-yard box to leave Smith with a simple nod home.

The win lifted Ipswich into fifth spot on the table as they seek promotion to the Premiership. Leeds slumped to 14th despite it being their first defeat in seven games, as they've recorded five draws.