Boss Mick McCarthy admitted that Barnsley were the better side and deserved a point after the Blues drew 1-1 with the Tykes at Portman Road.
McCarthy felt his team failed to deal with Tom Kennedy’s 88th minute corner from which sub Danny Rose headed the equaliser but that the South Yorkshiremen were worthy of at least a point: "We didn’t defend the corner properly.
"But they deserved a point, not that I’m happy about it, I’m very unhappy they got a point, but they deserved it overall on their performance, so I’ll take the point.”
The Blues have now drawn 1-1 at home to all the bottom three — as well registering the same result at Oakwell earlier in the season — and the Town manager says it can be hard to beat teams you’re expected to defeat: "It just is. I think there’s the weight of expectation, I think Cardiff felt that last week when we went there and should have turned them over and it was a great point.
"This week, was it a great point? They could have beaten us, they were the better side, to be fair to them.
"We would have nicked it and if we had nicked the three points, I’d have been delighted. If you are going to progress, if you are the inferior side and you get in front, that’s the day you grind it out and take the points but we just didn’t manage to do it.
"We were better in the second half, the game was a bit more open, but we didn’t have the quality to get the second goal unfortunately.”
McCarthy says he’s not sure why his team’s performances and results aren’t matched by those at home: "I thought Barnsley took the game to us, to be fair. I didn’t think they sat back and tried to catch us on the break.
"It’s one of those imponderables, I don’t know the answer. I’m not going to offer reasons for it, sometimes it happens.
"Then you think about Millwall, Nottingham Forest, those games when we’ve played really well. Maybe it is the fact that it’s the opposition around us, maybe it does make you a bit more nervy.
"I can offer all reasons for it, and do you know what? Maybe Barnsley played well, because I think they did.”
The Blues boss was pleased to see Luke Chambers get on the scoresheet but other than that felt it was a below-par performance: "Nowhere near the standard of last week across the board.
"We’ve got a centre-half who scored a goal, that’s a positive. Take the point, put it in your pocket and make sure we keep picking up more.”
McCarthy, who says there have been no developments on the transfer front, will be happy if Barnsley join Town in securing a place in the Championship for next season: "I’ve got a job to do here, but of course I want Barnsley to stay in the league.”
Tykes boss David Flitcroft was delighted with his team’s performance and thought they could have been celebrating a win: "The Championship is just a brilliant league. It’s been a really intense week’s work to get a point and earn that point. And we did earn that point.
"I think in the first half, I wouldn’t be embarrassed sitting here with Marlon Harewood with the matchball. I think he’s had three great opportunities, one on ones, and just made the wrong decision at the last minute.
"I’d be sat here worrying if we weren’t making those opportunities and Jacob Mellis’s quality to put him in was outstanding. We’ll get back on the training ground and try and find that goalscoring form.”
He says scorer Danny Rose, 19, isn’t ready to start games but feels that he’s presents a threat coming off the bench: "You can’t take Danny Rose for granted, you’ve got to pick him up in the box because the kid’s a ghost, he gets in between players, he’s always making runs away from the ball to come in. I’m absolutely delighted for the kid.”