Town boss Mick McCarthy was pleased with his side’s response to having gone behind and eventually draw 2-2 at home to Bristol City, Ryan Fraser netting an 86th minute equaliser.
"I thought they started well,” McCarthy said. "I had to change the shape of the team and we got to grips with it and I thought we were the better team in the first half, having had Gerks make a fantastic save to keep us in it early on.
"Having scored and started brilliantly in the second half, the deflection’s a real kick in the ging-gangs, of course, but we should have done better to stop him getting in there and then their second is a good goal by them but it’s appalling defending by us.
"Then I have to admire the response that we had to get back in the game, as always. I’m delighted with the lads for the way they kept going. And we’ve had plenty of chances, we’ve had enough chances to win that game.”
He felt the first Bristol City goal, Luke Freeman’s shot deflected past Dean Gerken off Tommy Smith, was more than a touch fortunate: "A large slice of luck, don’t you think? I’m not so sure the shot was going to reach, it wasn’t going anywhere.
"If you get that break, then good luck to the opposition, I can’t do anything about that. We’d take it if we get it.
"It’s funny because we had a shot which was deflected and it went wide of the post. We kept going, that’s the really pleasing thing about them.
"They’re a handful, they play real open football and make you defend, so they’re no mugs. It’s a point in the end, a good point, I think. Five minutes to go to get a point back is good.”
The Town boss felt the flat performance in the first half was due to the way his side was initially unable to deal with the Robins’ 3-5-2 system: "It was probably the shape of the team.
"I was tempted to change and play 4-3-3 against them and once I went that way after 10 minutes, probably less than that, I could see I had to because we couldn’t get the press on because of the shape of the team - you go chasing in it and suddenly it’s gone elsewhere.
"So that made it difficult for the lads. There’s always that hope that we would start well, start aggressively and powerfully but we didn’t and I think Bristol City had a part to play in that, that wasn’t only us.”
He added: "I think they are a better side [than their position suggests]. They played far better today than they did at home against Reading [last week].
"It was different, Reading scored two goals very quickly on the bounce and the chance [we had] just before they got their first, if Freddie had got across the keeper and we'd scored a second, who knows what would have happened.
"But they’re no mugs, they can play and I don’t think they were as wide open as they were against Reading. I thought the three defenders were far more diligent and weren’t rampaging up the field which I’ve seen them do. They were a far more solid unit today.”
McCarthy was impressed with his side’s well-worked second goal: "Ryan Fraser was on the move in the box, he wasn’t stood still and we had a number of those when we were.
"He got across his defender and he deserved it because I thought he was great, Ryan, I thought he had a good game.
"He’s terrific, he really is. We’re delighted to have him and he’s a constant threat, a good player.
"I wouldn’t doubt that he’s a Premier League player in the making, he’s got that lovely touch and a low centre of gravity and he can go past people both ways, and he’s got a goal in him. I’m glad we’ve got him for the year.”
The Blues boss said his skipper Luke Chambers is OK, despite having been substituted late in the second half: "He got cramp, I think. He’s fine.”
Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill felt his side could have won the game: "I think we should have gone on and won the game. I’m a little bit disappointed with us, if I’m totally honest.
"If you’d have looked at the game before we came here you’d have said we were going to get a draw at Ipswich, I think we would have looked at that thinking it would have been a decent one.
"But I think at 2-1 we stopped playing once we’d got our noses in front.
"So that was a disappointment really because I think if we’d have carried on playing like we did to get the two goals, albeit one a bit fortunate with the deflection, we’d have have gone on and got the third goal.”