Town boss Mick McCarthy felt his team had to play exceptionally well to beat Watford 1-0 at Portman Road. Tommy Smith netted the game’s only goal with seven minutes left on the clock.

“I think they had a very good team,” he said. “I think we’ve had to play exceptionally well and defend really well.

“I don’t know how it was 0-0 to when it was, except that both goalies played well and both defences played well. They got blocks in, stopped shots and worked really hard.

“I said at half-time that it was a really good Championship game between two good teams who have got a chance of being up there and it was about who blinked first.

“And they did. We got the goal from a well-worked freekick. We’re always on about trying to invent something, not just putting it in. Hunty and Didz have done that and it ends up in the net.

“They had chances, we had chances, there could have been a lot more goals. How it’s ended up 1-0 I’m not sure.

“I don’t think there was that much profligate finishing, I think it was good defending and good goalkeeping which kept people out.

“Maybe Forestieri’s chance, but he was running at full tilt and it goes over the bar. That was a wasted one for them, certainly.”

He added: “I don’t know about the gap [to the top] or the league, I haven’t looked at that, I’m not really interested, I’m just really pleased with the performance and victory.

“What are we, second? Fourth? I was hoping we were second. I don’t know what the other results are. What are we, two points off the top and about 10 off the bottom six? Not that I’m looking that way, of course.”

He says that while Town supporters will be celebrating, Watford followers eventually probably won’t be too unhappy given their side’s display: “Our fans will go away happy, I’m not sure about the Watford fans.

“Fans want to see when their team win but I think when they reflect on it they’ll think their team has played well, as has ours.

“They’ll think that they’ve come up against a good, well-organised, tough outfit that’s difficult to play against.

“I think we’ve had exactly the same and before we scored if it had ended up 0-0 I’d have taken it and been quite happy with a point.”

Overall, McCarthy says the Blues are going into the international break on a high, just a few weeks after boos had rung around Portman Road following the 2-2 draw with Huddersfield: “It’s great. It was a good performance, good victory, everything about it. We’ve had a good week, haven’t we?

“Two weeks ago I got booed off coming in here and I was seriously pissed off and angry about it.

“It just shows how quickly it changes around. But I know that. I said coming off, I know it changes, you just need results.

“I get the frustration, I get people’s annoyance when you’ve given a two-goal lead up. But that’s when we need the support, that is the vital time you need the support, that’s when I support my players and that’s when I need a bit of support.

“My point is that as a club you’re all in it together, you’re all inside pissing out, not outside pissing in. That’s my view of it.

“And if you are, then you stick with us and you’ve got a chance of being successful. I’m not having a go at anybody, I’m just saying that that is how you create that environment that is hard to beat.

“The crowd were great today, what were there, 22,000? I’ve seen a really great atmosphere in the last two games. It’s been fab.”

Stephen Hunt was again amongst Town’s top performers and McCarthy is delighted with the 33-year-old’s contribution since he came into the starting line-up at Blackpool.

“He’s great, isn’t he? I don’t know what he’s doing but I want some of it, that’s for sure,” the Town manager joked.

“I better not say that or I’ll have the testers on Monday. It’s just a testament to what a good pro he is.”

McCarthy was less pleased with some of the treatment meted out to Jonny Williams, who was forced off through injury after a poor Joel Ekstrand challenge on the hour.

“I take the point that if I was playing against him I’d probably kick him,” McCarthy admitted. “But I thought it was an awful tackle on him, a real take-one-for-the-team, cold, cynical tackle, and there weren’t many of them.

“He’s sat with his thigh heavily strapped and a big, sad face on him. I don’t know [how serious his injury might be] yet, so I can’t tell you anything.”

Asked whether he felt it was a fair result Watford boss Slavisa Jokanovic said: “This is football. Sometimes it’s fair and sometimes it’s not.

“I can be happy with some parts of the game. My team made many, many chances, especially in the first half.

“But I can be disappointed because my team played many minutes exactly how Ipswich wanted to play, we played Ipswich’s game.

“I need more control. My team is working very hard, my team was fighting very well, this is normal, but what I want, what I need is more football, more control.”

Photo: Action Images

LWNR2013 added 18:41 - Nov 8 ....and we did Mick. Thank you
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bluefeast added 18:44 - Nov 8 Great , lovely F off Watford.
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irishtim added 18:48 - Nov 8 Thanks MM and all the staff. Brilliant week for the club.
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jpring89 added 18:51 - Nov 8 Feels sooo good tonight great to be a town fan :) long may it continue !
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 18:55 - Nov 8 I suspect if Williams was playing against MM he'd have limped off a little earlier than the 65th minute or whatever it was!!
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Warkystache added 18:57 - Nov 8 Sad for Jonny that his game ended like that, at the boots of a lumpen Neanderthal defender like Ekstrand. Fooking Watford are a team of cheating bastards and cloggers. That said, they looked dangerous on the break, so well played Chambo, Berra, Ty and Smiffy as well. MOTM for me was the Bru. He's a seriously good player.
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BlueandTruesince82 added 19:01 - Nov 8 1. Profilgate, MM continues to baffle reporters everywhere with big words. 2. There was a time when PR had a siege mentality around it, carrot crunchers are coming for you mind set. It seems MM has created that in the dressing room, can we create it in the stadium? Sounds like we did today. Im definately heading to portman rd soon to help COYB!
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GeoffSentence added 19:02 - Nov 8 “I can be happy with some parts of the game. My team made many, many chances, especially in the first half.“ That's not quite how I remember, Bart only had two saves to make didn't he?
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LiamCP123 added 19:03 - Nov 8 “Two weeks ago I got booed off coming in here and I was seriously pissed off and angry about it." Stupid fans.
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afrodids added 19:03 - Nov 8 Superb result. What a week. 3 on the bounce. Sweet as.
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ArnieM added 19:05 - Nov 8 Watfords game plan was defend deep, hit us on the break, oh and kick us off the park. They were lucky to finish the game with 11 players still on the park. DIRTY CHEATING BASTEWARDS! 1-0 to the football team!
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pablo123 added 19:07 - Nov 8 What a fantastic week for us going into the international break !! Two of the teams around us taken care of , and the budgies stuffed again too !! Well done everyone , really building momentum now I feel !! And a special mention to Tommy , responded superbly since coming back in , a great pro , and another important goal ,well done mate !!
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GreenwichBlue added 19:20 - Nov 8 According to the BBC Jokanovic said: "We need more control because if we play the same way as Ipswich, they are stronger - more physical. My team is a little bit different." I have no idea what game he was watching. They were a cynical, rough team that dived and time-wasted throughout the first half and could have had at least one red card by the end. Nasty. The foul count is indicative - 18 fouls and 3 yellow cards compared to 8 and 1 by Ipswich. Well done Ipswich. Great play and - not just because of the win - one of the best games at Portman Road in years.

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bigfatjoe87 added 19:21 - Nov 8 Finally starting to win the ticketing promotional games :-)
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dalinghooblue added 19:22 - Nov 8 Perfect Saturday Evening. Wife away, steak was delicious, Merlot bottle sprang a leak and the Old Speckled is at the right temperature. Three points, clean sheet and Forest won. Feels like Christmas.
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TimmyH added 19:41 - Nov 8 Go get that November manager of the month award as well Mick...although we're only just into the 2nd week! :)
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toxtethblue added 19:51 - Nov 8 Great result. Great atmosphere? Then lets have more of these promotions - especially kids for a quid - it will serve us well for kids getting the bug and supporting us for a lifetime. Not to mention giving the team that extra 12th man in games when we need it most. We can do this - and Im not talking about messing about in the playoffs. COYB!!! :-)
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 19:53 - Nov 8 Mick McCarthy Multiple Manager of the Month Meister. #MMMMOTMM Yeah, yeah I think it'll catch on! :)
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JWM added 20:07 - Nov 8 22,000 of the Great Unwashed turned up today to witness another magnificent display of teamwork. I much prefer to be called the Great Unwashed than being called a total Shower like them idiots up the road!
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Kikapu added 20:19 - Nov 8 Not the first time teams have had it in for JW. Must be the opposing manager's instructions. With his improving vocabulary I reckon *profligate* MM is attending creative writing classes during the week. They say everyone's got a book in them.
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warktheline added 20:31 - Nov 8 Please take note, you boys always looking for the negative, listen to our manager and get behind the team. Surely you have faith in the old dinosaur by now!
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Michael11 added 20:40 - Nov 8 Best day of being an Ipswich fan for at least 5 years for me. A win against a side we struggle against so often, go 4th in the league and that lot up the road let two late goals in and lose 2-1. Absolutely perfect!!! Massive congratulations to everyone involved. Doing us very proud and hopefully it'll last a long time!
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horsehollerer added 21:00 - Nov 8 Today was huge. We've been here so many times before - we get a couple of good results, we're on the verge of building momentum, we have the big game coming up, we get the bumper crowd ... aaaand then we flop. Well not this time. Today we finally pushed over the hill. It felt much bigger than three points. The team played with determination, tenacity, intelligence and discipline against tough, nasty opponents who were capable of destroying us if we'd underperformed ever so slightly or lost our nerve for even a second. We didn't, though. Hunt, Bru, Bart and the entire back four were especially superb. The crowd was brilliant, too. In just two years, Mick has engineered a turnaround of staggering proportions, and on a shoestring budget. It's not always been pretty to watch and we're clearly still a work in progress, but for now this seems plenty good enough. It is way beyond anything we dared dream of after Messrs Keane and Jewell had left us in disarray, spiralling towards League One. Mick is a freaking genius. And for once, the international break is perfectly timed. Now the team can reflect and recharge for a couple of weeks, before Mick raises the bar again. Life is good.

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Hiltzkooler added 21:39 - Nov 8 Awwwh!....mick you ol' dinosaur!!... You will have us non believers believing soon....can't argue with the football, can't argue with the team selections.....looks like you did know best when it came to some those chaps who are now at distant clubs.....!...my only concern is how I want you to kill a match off...but on today's performance, no quibbles or grumbles!...spot on T Rex!

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GiveusaWave added 23:22 - Nov 8 MM could win manager of the month again the way things are going. Hunt and Tabb are playing exceptionally well at the moment.
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