Town boss Mick McCarthy held up his hands and admitted that his Blues were beaten by a better Watford side after goals from Ikechi Anya and Nathaniel Chalobah saw the Hornets to a 2-0 victory at Portman Road.
McCarthy said: "I think we were beaten by a very good side, as good as I’ve seen this season in the league. And we probably did all right to keep it at two because we stuck at it. We had to work for everything, they were the best side, we were beaten by the better team.”
The Blues boss admitted that sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say that: "I don’t think too many people find that easy to do. I don’t like it, I’m not happy that we’ve been beaten, I’m chewing about that, but you do.
"They were better than us, they deserved to win. I’ve got no complaints about that. We could have played better and done better, but is that because they’re a good side? I think probably, yes. They handled us well.”
However, he felt the Blues ought to have been awarded a spotkick when Jonathan Hogg tripped Lee Martin in the first half: "We should have had a penalty. You know when you’re having a tough night, things aren’t going for you and you’re having to scrap away.
"When that happens, you need the right decision to be given and I just don’t understand what he saw because he had a good view of it, but he didn’t [give it].
"If you’d seen their bench gasp as the lad stuck his foot out, knowing it was a penalty and then giving a sigh of relief when it wasn’t given. It should be given, but it wasn’t.”
Despite the loss there was no tongue-lashing for the Town players with their manager delighted with the way they have performed since he took over: "The lads have been great. We’ve had 31 points from November 1st.
"I’ve just said that to them. We were against a better team tonight, who are quality, they are a good side.
"Don’t beat yourselves up, lads, you’ve had a great haul of points. We need another four or five wins and we’ve got the ability and the team spirit and everything to get those, maybe tonight wasn’t the night, unfortunately.”
Earlier in his time in charge, at two of the division’s other better sides, Crystal Palace and Leicester, the Blues collapsed after going behind, but that never seemed on the cards on this occasion, something McCarthy feels illustrates the progress made.
"I hope so,” he said. "And as well as that we had some chances too. Not great, but even Aaron Mclean had a header at last knockings.
"But listen, I just thought they were good. I don’t think it was how we played, I don’t think it’s anyone’s lack of effort, they’re just a good team.”
Watford started with five of their controversial 11 loan players with three more on the bench but McCarthy had no complaints on that front: "If it’s within the rules, it’s within the rules. Let them get on with it. I’ve seen that they are on about changing the rules, well, so what?
"We played against a better team than us who have done everything within the rules of the game and he’s got a good side there, Gianfranco, and he’s a great fella. You’re not getting me moaning about what they do.”
Watford boss Gianfranco Zola was pleased with the win but thought the performance wasn’t up to the level of Saturday’s 4-0 win at Birmingham: "If you compare to the standard we set on Saturday, you wouldn’t say it has been the best game, but I’m very pleased because you cannot play that type of football all the time and when you don’t do that, you have to be able to win games anyway in the position we are in. And that was the case tonight.
"I think we played some good football for a large part of the first half and we deserved to be in front. In the second, we had to suffer because they came back strong and we were getting tired, to be honest.
"We couldn’t manage to handle the ball as well as we did in the first half. But we never gave up, we worked hard as a team and we defended extremely well and that’s why when we had the opportunity we scored.
"That was the difference really. We had the opportunity and scored, they had the opportunity and they didn’t.
"So, I’m delighted because it was a tough game and I know on a Tuesday after a good victory like the other day it’s very easy to slip up.”