Town boss Mick McCarthy felt his side deserved to beat Stevenage to claim his first cup victory as Blues boss. Debutant Josh Yorwerth and Jay Tabb netted after the break to seal the 2-1 win after Christophe Berra had scored an own goal just after the half-hour mark to put the League Two side in front.
"We won and I think we’ve played well enough in the game,” he said. "I thought we started well and then we gave an awful goal away.
"Cokey reckons he was fouled, but I said to him, ‘If you’re fouled, make sure you get the bleeding foul’.
"I tell them in training all the time, they all appeal for fouls and I don’t give them, so they should make sure they don’t appeal for fouls.
"So, he doesn’t give him it and Josh Yorwerth has missed his tackle, which was pretty poor.
"Then I thought that for 10 or 15 minutes before the end of the first half we had enough chances to have gone in front, we were the better team.
"But they were always a threat, they played well. I thought they ran out of steam because we passed the ball better in the second half and overall I think we deserved it.”
Regarding the incident late on when Stevenage initially appeared to be awarded a penalty before referee Fred Graham changed his mind and gave a drop ball, he added: "I asked the referee and the linesman had said it was for a trip from behind, because it was the linesman which gave it, which is unusual.
"And the referee said, ‘Well, if that’s what you’re giving it for, he didn’t trip him up from behind, that’s not what happened’. So he overruled him.
"I didn’t think it was a penalty. I thought [Dean Parrett] did brilliantly to get in the box and I thought when he got in the box he stuck his left leg out desperately trying to get brought down. My view is that if you’re going to bring him down, do it on the halfway line.
"Fair play to the referee, I’m sure everybody will analyse it. To have the wherewithal to ask the question and then to have the courage to change it. Because it’s not a penalty for what the linesman was giving it for, surely he’s got to change it.
"But we got away with it because on another night they might have given them a penalty and we might still be playing.”
McCarthy was pleased with half-time sub Ryan Fraser’s performance: "He’s a very, very good player. I’m delighted we’ve got him and that’s the reason I brought him on, I thought he would have that effect.
"I didn’t want him on for 90 minutes and I thought Larsen Touré did some good things, but he’s not fit.
"Two weeks ago he played against Colchester and he could barely play 15 minutes. I think he’s got something to offer. But Ryan’s a proper player.”
McCarthy isn’t concerned that a cup run might hamper the more important matter of Town’s promotion push: "It shouldn’t do and I changed the team purposely for that reason.
"You could see that they needed a game, like our lads on Saturday needed a game. I thought the players got better in it, Tabby got better once he got his game legs going.
"I thought the two lads in midfield [Giles Coke and Jonathan Douglas] just got better, they needed the game. Didz and Brett, all of them that were playing.
"The one that stood out for me was Myles Kenlock, he was brilliant. I thought he was outstanding, another great debut.
"I’m sure the Academy are enthusing about him because all along that’s what they want to do is produce players. When they’re not producing everyone’s questioning the Academy.
"But we had Josh Emmanuel on Saturday, who was terrific, and we had Myles today, who was equally as good. If you consider when he played against Fortuna Düsseldorf and he had a really tough start, he was great today.
"Both he and Josh are physically very capable, they’re both quick, they can both defend and they’ve just come on from the end of last season to training with us every day now. They’re really good squad players, I know I can play them, it’s great.”
There was good news regarding U21s midfielder Monty Patterson with the injury he suffered at Leeds last night now not believed to be as serious as first feared.
It’s now thought the New Zealand U23 international has dislocated his ankle but Town, who are waiting on the results of today’s scan, are hopeful that there’s no fracture, which is usually the case with injuries of that type.
Asked for his view of the given and then not-given penalty, Stevenage boss Teddy Sheringham said: "Who knows? Who gave it in the first place? Who changed their mind? I don’t know. He [definitely pointed to the spot].”
The former England international hadn’t been to see the referee to receive an explanation of the incident: "Would I change his mind now? The linesman’s changed his mind, it’s a little bit late for that.
"There’s no need to find out, it’s just a situation. We’re told at the start of the season not to surround the referee and the linesman, we’re trying to outlaw that, and then a few of them go over there and he changes his mind. What’s the right and wrong here?”
Regarding his side’s performance, he added: "I’ll tell you exactly what I said to them: Why do opposing teams get free headers when we don’t get free headers? That’s what let them back into the game. It makes it very disappointing.
"There were a lot of very good performances out there, but someone gets a free header and they’re back in the game, an easy way back into the game and it shouldn’t be happening. We don’t get free headers, so why should they?”