Town boss Mick McCarthy was delighted with the Blues’ 3-1 victory at Millwall on what he felt was a difficult day to face a much-changed Lions side. Noel Hunt scored twice in the first half, then after Magaye Gueye had pulled one back just before half-time, Jonny Parr netted the clincher 13 minutes from time.
"I’m really pleased with the way we played and delighted with the result on what I thought was a difficult day for us to come here and do it,” McCarthy said.
"I have to say I thought their crowd stuck with them and made it difficult for us. I’m glad we got the third, obviously, as I wouldn’t have liked to have gone into the last five or six minutes with a one-goal lead. We were able to kill the game with that third one.”
He added: "I thought it was a good performance. I was very happy at the end, my team had just won 3-1 away from home on a day when it was always going to be tough, and maybe tougher because of changes that were made and what had gone on in the week.
"I thought they set off at a real pace and we managed to stem that and got our goals, which took the sting out of it for us.”
He admitted it was difficult to know what Millwall team might face him following their 4-0 loss at Bradford in the FA Cup and with manager Ian Holloway promising wholesale changes: "It was nigh-on impossible.
"I thought he would bring his three full-backs back who missed out the other night, Andy Wilkinson, Shaun Cummings and Dan Harding and I got two of them right.
"I didn’t know if he’d play Danny Shittu having played on Saturday and again on Wednesday. I didn’t know who was fit.
"I was certain that the two lads in midfield would play and I was guessing, and guessing at the shape because he played 3-5-2 on Wednesday night but lost a centre-half after six minutes.
"It was pretty difficult, and then I read his comments saying he was going to make a lot of changes and there were eight. I anticipated that he’d play 4-4-2 against us and that didn’t surprise me.”
McCarthy was pleased with debutant Freddie Sears’s performance from the bench, the former Colchester man creating the third goal: "I was delighted with him, he’s going to be a good player for us, Freddie. I’m really pleased.
"I think his career’s on the up. He said to me he took a step back to come forward, let’s hope that’s with us.”
The Blues boss was similarly impressed with two-goal frontman Noel Hunt: "An outstanding performance I thought from Hunty.
"I’m delighted with him, I said that when we took him on loan. Now we’ve signed him permanently, I’m even happier still with him.”
He dismissed suggestions that sending on winning goalscorer Jonny Parr was a tactical masterstroke: "I didn’t send Jonny Parr on to go and get the third goal. If I said that you wouldn’t believe me anyway.
"It was interesting that Fabbrini had been doing that floating on the inside all afternoon and Jonny Parr goes and does it, it opens up and what a great finish it was.”
Regarding the absent David McGoldrick, who has a knee problem, McCarthy hopes he’ll be involved at Brighton: "He’s injured. I’m hoping he’ll be back on Wednesday.”
Midfielder Luke Hyam also has a knee problem but is likely to be sidelined for longer: "He’s injured, he’s out for longer, he’ll be a few weeks, Luke.
"Cole Skuse is still ill. He trained on Thursday and was great. He came in on Friday and his lymph nodes were up through the illness. He was ill last night, so we sent him home this morning.”
Millwall boss Ian Holloway was pleased with his side's overall performance if not the result: "We have paid the price for a poor start but that's the way it has been going for us.
"I made a lot of changes to the team because it was completely necessary. I wasn't at all happy with what the display on Wednesday but I will have what we saw today all day long. I liked the effort.
"The fans were absolutely magnificent and got behind us despite what happened with going 2-0 down. The bare minimum here is that the passion, workrate and commitment is there and I think the fans saw that today. They responded to it and gave us some brilliant support.
"Unfortunately we couldn't win the game for them but we will only get better from now on."
Holloway felt Noel Hunt's second goal ought to have been disallowed: "If you look at the second goal the bloke’s fell off the pitch.
"I’ve just asked the referee to look at it. It rolls back in, he comes back in and scores, and really if you’re off the pitch, you’re off the pitch. But that’s the way things are going for us.”