Boss Mick McCarthy was delighted with the performances of Elliott Hewitt, Frank Nouble and Jay Tabb during Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Peterborough United. Hewitt was making his first league start for the Blues having signed from Macclesfield in the summer, ex-Wolves man Nouble his first start for Town in any competition and new loan signing from Reading Tabb his debut.
Nouble, 21, came closest to breaking the deadlock at London Road when he hit the post with a first half strike. Soon after, the ex-England U19 international had another effort saved by Posh keeper Bobby Olejnik, widely viewed as Saturday’s man of the match.
"I thought his two chances he created for himself with his power and pace,” McCarthy said. "The first one that hit the post was a fabulous strike and for the second one the keeper’s just made a great save.”
The Blues boss was similarly pleased with 18-year-old Hewitt, who came into the side for the suspended Richard Stearman at right-back: "He played well, I’m really pleased with him. And it’s a big game to come into.
"There might be people who hear that and question it, but actually it is because we’re both trying to stay in this league. It’s a pressurised game for a young kid to come and play and I thought he handled it well.”
Tabb, 29, joined from the Royals for a month on Friday and also impressed his new manager: "He was excellent, first class and it optimised him when in the last knockings he slid in and won a tackle and he was completely knackered at that stage.
"He’d got his 90-odd minutes in and he still managed to get back and do that. I thought he was terrific. I’m delighted with him, really, really pleased I’ve got him.”
The result saw the Blues drop to 20th in the Championship, four points from the relegation zone, having scored just twice in their last seven games.
McCarthy admits that this lack of goals is a worry: "We’re the lowest scorers in the division, so of course that’s a concern to me.
"But I’ll take the plus points out of it that we’ve played well and the keeper’s played well.
"It wasn’t just us missing, Tabby got in at the far post and Mark Little got a toe on it and the referee managed to give a throw-in to them — if he doesn’t get a toe on it he puts it in the net.
"The performance is good, but we’ve got to score. We work on it every single day, there’s always a finishing session and we’ll keep working at it.
"But if we play like that and we defend like that and we keep clean sheets, then we’ll be all right. I see the others around us won and it’s going to be tight right to the very end.”
Meanwhile, Town's U21s are in action against Brentford at Playford Road this afternoon (KO 1pm).