Boss Mick McCarthy said it was “wonderfully rewarding” to see new loan signing Noel Hunt come off the bench to net Town’s 95th minute goal on his debut as the Blues won 1-0 at Charlton to rise to second in the Championship table.

“It’s fantastic, isn’t it?” he said. “Wonderfully rewarding. I’ve always admired Noel Hunt, the way he goes about his job, about his business.

“I thought that if we can get him going again we’ve got a good player. He’s a great character, he’s like his brother. He’s a great character to have around.”

McCarthy admitted that the defeat was probably a little harsh on the Addicks: “I can’t honestly come in and say we’ve played Charlton off the park. I thought Charlton were the better team in the first half and had the better chances.

“We’ve had to make good blocks and good saves, although we had good chances in the first half. I wouldn’t write off what we did.

“I think in the second half we came more in to the game. I’m absolutely certain that the sun had a real bearing on the game, it was difficult to deal with it defensively, balls were bouncing and consequently you get more of the ball in that half. We struggled to head it in the first half.

“It says a lot about the team because we had to weather that and then we got better and in the last 15 minutes it was us that was going to win it, probably more than that. I thought we shaded the second half.”

He had praise for his backline: “That’s what they’re there for. We have defenders who like defending and throw themselves in front of things and block things and track people.

“We’ve got proper defenders who want to do it and they’ve had to do it today because I thought Charlton were good.”

The Town boss says Luke Hyam suffering an injury in the warm-up wasn’t too much of a disruption as he’d named a flexible side in any case.

“We decided that Didzy would just play off Murph,” he added. “The system had him set up with the two wide players, we could put Tabby [in Hyam’s central position] and Ando out wide.

“We’d been watching Charlton and they’ve played 4-4-2, they’ve played 4-1-4-1, 4-4-1-1 as well. Whatever we wanted to do we’d got flexibility within that. It worked anyway.

“It was his achilles. He felt it yesterday but he thought he was OK. You can’t run achilles injuries off, they just get worse and worse.”

He says the absent Teddy Bishop’s hip flexor problem isn’t serious: “Teddy will be fine for next week.”

Asked whether he felt Town would now be considered more serious promotion challengers after the victory, he said: “I think that’s a misconception that they don’t take us seriously. I think at the start of the season we weren’t one of the favourites.

“But after the games that we’ve played and the manner in which we’ve played them, I think they’re taking us seriously.

“I think other teams take us seriously ,which concerns me more rather than anybody else.”

Charlton boss Bob Peeters felt his team should have won: “It’s cruel, but we only have ourselves to blame.

"You create enough chances, you have enough possibilities to win at least one maybe two games, then it’s about finishing that last ball off.

“Then at the end, we got away with it already because we gave a ball away and Andre Bikey put a block in [on Conor Sammon] in the last second of the game.

“Then in the 94th minute when your centre-back [Tal Ben Haim] thinks he can dribble in the middle of the park and try to score a goal, if you get cocky, they punish you.

“We got a lesson today. I think in every aspect of football we were the better team. We passed the ball better, had better movement, they only kicked long balls, but it’s about putting the ball in the net and that’s what they did and that’s why they’re up there and we’re not.”

Photo: Action Images

mojo added 21:30 - Nov 29 I only managed to catch the second half. What a cool, slotted finish by Hunty. Loved the celebrations by the players and especially management. I thought Mings was unlucky with his effort. As others have said Sammon is ok to bring on when we are defending a lead but doesn't pose enough of a threat when we are trying to win a game.
1

dusth added 21:40 - Nov 29 What's being talked about here? Can we have some definition of "the long ball game"? To my mind it was the ball hoofed high and hard to a big striker around the penalty area who laid it off with head or chest to an army following up. Or a long ball hoofed to a tall wide player (which we were guilty of not long ago when Murphy played out wide) but long passes are not the same thing - Arsenal do them from time to time and so do effing Chelsea. Release the wide players quickly. Rake the ball across field to change the direction of play. THIS IS GOOD FOOTBALL!! Managers have to big up their own team when they lose because they're scared of the boot and "long ball" is an easy insult. (We taped it around but sadly we didn't win) WE DON'T PLAY LONG BALL like some kind of fetish. We close sides down. So do effing Barcelona and Bayern. We are becoming a good team and some know-all Ipswich Town fans should stop agreeing with whingeing opposition managers.

3

GTRKing added 22:00 - Nov 29 What a great result Noel hunt was a good signing... Now gonna go in town and celebrate the win up the league we go.... :)
1

Bigalhunter added 23:55 - Nov 29 Now if we could just get rid of Walk the Wark & Hegan's Heroes the weekend would be complete. Biggest pair of know it all tos*pots ever to grace these fair pages. The sort of people you dread ending up sitting (or standing) next to at an Ipswich game. C O Y B
6

BlueHennee added 00:13 - Nov 30 I can't understand the negative stuff that gets posted. Oh well, each to their own..... Personally I like to look at the positives - 2nd in the table - wow! Grinding out results - COYB; a team that works HARD - people slag off Jay Tabb & Stephen Hunt but they both ran their backsides off & always give 100%. It's so much better watching Ipswich play this season. We're starting slowly in the 1st half of games but then finishing strongly. This seems a better way to play than what we were starting like a train, playing pants in 2nd half & defending deep in last 20 minutes with all the subs being defensive changes. Look at MMs subs today - can't get more positive than finishing with 4 strikers on the pitch at the end. If that's not a sign of intent then nothing is! Whole team works really hard - whoever comes on & whenever that is: Conor Sammon may not be to everyone's liking but he runs his heart out when he comes on. Last 15 minutes was exciting - we kept pressing & felt more like scoring than conceding!! Plus, got to congratulate long pass from Mings finding McGoldrick leading to goal which was sublime! COYB - most excitement in years & when McGoldrick finds his shooting boots again we will be unstoppable!! Having been at Dean Court last Saturday (1st time as an away fan), the support today was equally immense. If home fans could generate the same noise & enthusiasm as our away fans, the Portman Road the atmosphere would be outstanding!

5

WindsorBlue added 00:39 - Nov 30 Just got back from a great awayday! Whats better is that I found out you can add people to you "ignore list" Walk_the_Walk you are now IGNORED... I will now remain oblivious to negative bile!
2

MacMan added 03:51 - Nov 30 Got up at 1am in New Zealand to watch the match and loved it. There is nothing in the laws of the game that says you can't hit a long pass and when David Beckham used to hit 40 yard passes I don't remember him getting any stick. Every team plays to its strengths, so why shouldn't we? Man city do it, Chelsea do it and the team I play for in the masters div 3 league do it. And while we are on the subject this is the Championship; it's a friggin' hard league and you have to battle to win every single game. If you think teams will let you play nice and pretty then look what happens to players like Jonny Williams. Mick has put together a great team mainly made up of players no one else wanted. They play for each other and for me a defining moment was watching Hunt Senior tracking back to slide the ball off a Charlton player lining up a shot. Excellent defending. I love this team, they work their b******s off every game and have given Ipswich Town back their pride. For that I am truly thankful.

12

BlueHennee added 07:47 - Nov 30 ManMan - spot on! Couldn't agree more. COYB!
1

BlueHennee added 07:51 - Nov 30 Sorry - meant MacMan!
0

happybeingblue added 10:47 - Nov 30 Mick has created such a team spirit with all the lads battling away ...luke chambers let his emotion show at the end when he swore in his interview on sky...our back four wether it be tommy christophe luke mingsy and parr are very good defenders at this level and i am really believing that this could be our year even though big mick will play it down... loving his quote ROUGHING UP A FEW SCHOOLBOYS quality!

1

walberswicks added 10:48 - Nov 30 “I can't honestly come in and say we've played Charlton off the park. I thought Charlton were the better team." Playing like this isn't the way to get promoted.
-4

cliffy306 added 11:18 - Nov 30 ITFC Serbia, love your comments and agree about Connor. Connor works his socks off, but we can't keep playing the boy. I wish him all the best, but what is he offering us....
2

PJH added 11:30 - Nov 30 But winning games 1-0 IS the way to get promoted walberswicks. Another disappointing result for you.
0

Samassi100Abou added 11:34 - Nov 30 Some people slating hunt even before he's put on a shirt always have faith in wise old mick!! Next 4 games are critical if we can go into Xmas in the same spot we will just gain momentum. Great to see all the fans at charlton good following and our back line was fantastic we look so hard to beat I'm starting it believe it's possible :-/ come on town
1

Samassi100Abou added 11:39 - Nov 30 Long ball and promotion I would take that any day, can we be the Stoke ? Keep doing what your doing muck teams are struggling against us playing long ball
0

walberswicks added 12:15 - Nov 30 being the second best team on the park isn't the way to go
-3

Blue041273 added 16:21 - Nov 30 Get real Walberswick. No team goes out setting themselves up to be the 2nd best team on the park. We were the away team but were the best team when it mattered. No amount of carping by you and your doomsday cronies can take away the fact that we won or the fact that we are now 2nd in the league and that most of us are going to enjoy the moment.
4

Seasider added 16:49 - Nov 30 Walberswick et al do sometimes make relevant points;but they dont give credit where it is due. Yes I thought Charlton shaded it in outfield play;but they were the home side and as their Manager and a pundit on Sky said they lacking in the striker dept,which fortunately we are not. We also played some aimless balls out of defence hit high in the air;but not all the time;and surely that is better than pussyfooting around in your own area and getting caught in possession. I was not sure if MM was the man when he first took over;but he has proved himself to me and a lot of others on here and is now adding players with a bit of flair who unfortunately wer all out injured yesterday.

0

Hegansheroes added 16:57 - Nov 30 So bigalhunter has decreed that no one apart from himself & his sychophantic side kicks are allowed an opinion and resorts to abuse. Just about sums up the stupidity of some of the comments by his ilk who have such blinkered views. The Charlton fans must be thinking how the hell did we lose to that lot as the Bournemouth fans must be ruing the loss of 2 points against a very inferior team. I'm a realist _ MM is a good manager at this level, not a great one and is out of his depth in the Premiership

-6

Blue041273 added 19:17 - Nov 30 Hegansheroes No-one denies you an opinion. But this is a site for Ipswich supporters. It is clear that you don't like the club or other supporters, so why do you bother even making a comment on matters Ipswich. Your credibility as a so-called fan is non-existent. Your last post was simply risible. Who cares what opposition supporters think about our club? If Bournemouth and Charlton fans are arrogant enough to think that their teams are superior to ours (and I am certain most are not that arrogant) then they need only to look at the table to see the reality of the situation at the moment. Those teams are good teams and it gives me great joy to see our team get good results against them. Our players are doing a job for their manager. And at the moment, they are doing a job better than most in our division. Whether or not MM can hack it in the Prem is not important at the moment. While the destination is important you need to enjoy the ride as well.

6

RRanger added 21:19 - Nov 30 I may be wrong Hegansheros but I don't believe MM as a manager has ever been relegated from the Premiership and I'm sure ,if we do get promoted he will do his best to keep us there. Any manager that can get his players to do the basic simple things consistently well and play for him and the shirt every week, as our boys are doing this season will have every chance of surviving ( obviously with more of the right kind players being brought in).

1

shortmarine1969 added 22:34 - Nov 30 I am also a poster that did not know that you could ignore other posters..thanks for mentioning that , as just added 3 complete not supporting planks to the list so i dont have to read their complete anti MM drivel..and no prizes for guessing the 3 planks..!!!
2

oldtimer3 added 02:32 - Dec 1 I have not made a comment in a long time but after reading some of the negative comments posted, I feel I have to point out that its so refreshing to see the team near the top of the league. Cant believe people can come on here and slag the management off and say they are town supporters. Although we didn't play our best we won, and if you don't play well and win it means in my book we have a great chance of going up. Happy Days

3

BlueSwede added 07:50 - Dec 1 Was busy with my own team when the game was played live, so I recorded it an watched it in the middle of the night when I came home. Guess my scream when Hunt scored woke the whole house up. This is the kind of win that gets you promoted. Most people talk about the wins and losses, points gained and points dropped in the final month of the season, but these points are just as valuable. If this goal takes us into the top two or the playoffs, I for one feel it was a brilliant move to bring in Hunt even if he doesn't do anything else all season for us. And Walberswick: I'll take second best any day of the week as long as we get the three points at the end of the game.

1

Bigalhunter added 08:15 - Dec 1 Hegansheroes I stand by my 'blinkered views' and you sir, are a complete tool. You've described MM as an 'arrogant prxck' with 'no integrity' a 'pretty useless coach' who is 'not good enough to run a Sunday league pub team' So I wouldn't moan about me resorting to abuse! I detest 'fans' like you. You admit you watch Leiston now instead of Ipswich yet you still have an opinion our performance every game. Do us all a favour, forget your password and go and spout your mindless vitriol elsewhere.

2

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls