Boss Jim Magilton felt it was two points dropped after conceding a late equaliser to Sheffield United at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon. Penalties from Tommy Miller and James Beattie at the end of either half saw the game to a 1-1 draw.

Magilton said: "We didn't play that well but a win against Sheffield United would have been a good result and we were only a couple of minutes away from that.

"We just needed to stay strong and see the game out and, to be fair, we defended very well. Gareth McAuley won a lot of headers and had a good game and Alex was solid for us as well.

"I don't know what Quinny was doing really for the penalty really. I'm sure Kevin Blackwell was disappointed with his player for our penalty and it was the same for me. They were both penalties.

"We were tentative for the first 20 minutes and lacked a bit of sharpness. We were better in the second half and had one or two chances, but when we had our noses in front and you are nearly across the line, we definitely have to see it as two points dropped."

Blades boss Kevin Blackwell thought his side did enough to win all three points: "It was a strong, solid away performance that really merited more than a point.

"With a minute to go, things not dropping for us in the box and Richard Wright making a world class save from Kilgallon, I thought it was going to be a fruitless trip. Thankfully, through hard work and endeavour, we have got a point out of it and the lads deserve it.

"It is frustrating that things aren't dropping for us in the box. We are dominating teams for long spells - for the first 25 to 30 minutes it was like we were the home team, Ipswich hardly had the ball.

"We had four great chances in the first half and three more in the second. I thought we started well but we dropped to their level and became sloppy, taking an extra touch and picking the wrong pass at crucial times.

"We were waiting for the goal to happen when we should have been looking for it. I thought we played some good stuff, though and the lads showed plenty of endeavour."

Blackwell thought the spotkick decisions evened one another out: "The linesman has been consistent in giving both penalties, from that point of view we are back to square one."

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