Town boss Mick McCarthy was delighted with what he felt was a “workmanlike display” and a “great point” as the Blues drew 0-0 away against automatic promotion contenders Middlesbrough, who remain second on goal difference from Burnley with Brighton behind them, also only on goals.
"I’m delighted with how we went about it,” the Blues boss said. "I guess we got good fortune, but they’ve got to put the ball in the net.
"We defended well, the goalkeeper played well and all-round it was a workmanlike display. A great point.”
He added: "Away games we’re all right, check the stats, it’s home games where we’ve been pretty ordinary unfortunately, which is unlike recent seasons when Portman Road’s been a bit of a fortress. Away from home we’ve done well.”
McCarthy was also pleased with Paul Digby’s performance with the on-loan Barnsley man, who is set to join the Blues on a free transfer in the summer, making his first league start for Town.
"I’m delighted with him,” the Town manager continued. "I didn’t have any doubts in terms of how he’d go about his attitude towards his business.
"But he’s been very much a midfield player [with Barnsley] and had only done bits and pieces at centre-half. I just saw things in him [which showed potential as a centre-half], and there are still things I’d have to show him, he got bumped a few times and missed headers.
"But for a kid stepping in, and he wasn’t stepping in against any mugs, it was a proper team, I was delighted with him. I thought it was a good full debut for him.
"[He did the scruffy things well but] he’s got more than that, but it was a day to do that well. It wasn’t a day to be fanning out at the back and him to be trying to play out from the back.
"He did what he needed to do. He had a great block in the first half and I’m really pleased with him.”
McCarthy says the 21-year-old will have learnt a lot from marking the likes of Jordan Rhodes and latterly sub David Nugent.
"I would think so, his neck is probably sore because they’re on the move all the time,” he added. "I thought he handled it well. I thought Tommy Smith was a good positive influence alongside him.”
Christophe Berra missed out with a knee injury but the Town boss says it’s nothing too serious.
"I said in the press conference on Thursday that I’d probably play somebody [young] and I knew Christophe had a bit of a sore knee,” the Blues manager continued.
"If there was any doubt about Christophe I would have played Diggers. But he’s fine, he’ll be all right.”
McCarthy was also pleased to see David McGoldrick play the full 90 minutes: "I thought Didzy was excellent. He stayed the whole game, which I didn’t think he would.
"I’m delighted with him. That’s great for him because I think the Republic of Ireland like him and if they see that kind of performance, he’ll be fit to travel [to the Euros] and play if needed.
"Didzy’s had two seasons which have been disturbed and he’s missed games. We’ve missed him, we’ve missed his quality and he makes us a better team.
"I just hope he gets into that squad for the European Championships because he’s missed such a lot of football, it would be a great fillip for him this season.”
McCarthy also had praise for keeper Bartosz Bialkowski: "He was great, wasn’t he? We’ve got two really good goalkeepers and they keep each other on their toes. Whichever one comes in has always played, but Bart has been outstanding.”
The Town boss says he has no idea which of the three top sides will go up with leaders Burnley, Boro and Brighton all level on 87 points with little in it terms of goal difference.
"I haven’t got a clue. I tipped Derby when they beat us, I tipped Middlesbrough when they beat us, Hull when they beat us. They all played well against us at home, they all slapped us. Hull are nowhere near it now. I haven’t got a clue. I don’t gamble, I’m not allowed to, but I don’t anyway.”
He added: "If I’ve done one person a favour I hope it’s Chris Hughton because he’s my mate and he’s such a wonderful, wonderful guy.
"So Chris, that’s a point for you, lad. I hope we help him get promoted. Me money’s on nobody, but you know who my favourite is!”
McCarthy believes the Championship will only get tougher: "I think it gets increasingly strong. If you calculate the number of teams that have been in the Premier League, it’s about 18 of them, might be more.
"If, and it doesn’t matter who it is, if it’s Sunderland, Newcastle, Villa as it is, or Norwich, that come down it’s going to be tougher next year, that’s for sure.”
McCarthy believes Boro did little wrong, despite dropping two points: "This is a good team with good players and they’ve done everything today, bar put the ball in the net, to be fair, a lot of that’s down to us.
"You can’t say they’ve played badly, you can’t say it was a bad performance. You can’t say there’s anything wrong with the crowd or the atmosphere, everything’s right. They’ve just come up against a belligerent bunch.”
Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka was staying upbeat despite the result, believing his side should have won: "We have to be positive. I don't know how many chances we need to score a goal, the first-half score should have been 4-0, but we couldn't score.
"When it's not your day, the ball hits the post and doesn't go in. I'm really proud of all the players.
"We have to know we've played seven games in 23 days. To win five games and draw two when we're tired and are in the position we are, that is good for me.
"The team has played really well, so for that reason I have to be positive. It's frustrating but I prefer to not win games like today when we've created a lot of chances.
"Sometimes we lose or draw without creating chances and that's frustrating, but today I can understand.
"It's the seventh game of this month and the legs and the heads are tired - it's difficult. But we have time to recover."