Boss Mick McCarthy was pleased with the Blues’ display as they drew 0-0 with Aston Villa at Portman Road. The Town manager gave credit to the visitors for holding out during the Blues’ final minutes onslaught.
"I’m pleased with the performance and how we played against a team of very good players, an expensively assembled team,” he said.
"Yes, we could have won it at the end, we’ve had two off the line and hit the post, but if that was me on the other side I’d say what great defending it is, I was saying that on Tuesday night.
"You have to give them a bit of credit as well, they didn’t capitulate and pack up, they finished it right to the end. I think probably overall it was a fair result.”
Earlier, a number of Town players had made important blocks on the edge of the area, something McCarthy says typifies their commitment.
"They always do, I can trust my players to go on the pitch and give everything and leave it on the pitch, not be bringing anything back in," he added.
"That’s a really a nice thing for a manager or a coach to be able to say week in, week out.
"We might not play well but it won’t be for the want of trying or running around or working hard. That’s a quality in itself.”
Freddie Sears came close to ending his goal drought, which stretched to 34 matches, but McCarthy isn’t concerned by the former West Ham man’s current lack of goals.
"I’m not bothered, he’ll be in the team because he’s different class,” he said. "He’s going back and nicking it off the full-back’s toe in the box and then running and creating chances.
"He’ll get his goal and it’ll start again, it’ll all happen for him, he’s just having one of those moments in a career when it’s tough for him.
"It’s tough in terms of his goals but he’s playing great. He’ll still be named in the team next week.”
He added: "The one that hit the post is [unlucky]. We’ve all been through it as players. I remember going through a horrible period and it really was a horrible period and I tried everything to make it right.
"[Ex-Celtic and Manchester City manager] Billy McNeill stuck with me and never once thought of leaving me out and he could have done because I hadn’t been playing right but he knew I was the best centre-half in the team. He stuck with me and I got out of it and we continued to do well.
"You’ve got to have a bit of faith in them. I wasn’t playing particularly well either, Freddie is, there’s a difference there.
"I don’t think the fact that he’s not scoring constitutes not playing well. There’s a huge difference. As I’ve said before, David McGoldrick went 11 games without scoring and I never left him out either.”
McCarthy says the striker showed he still has confidence with his strikes towards the end which nearly won it for the Blues.
"I just said to him, ‘Where have you been all season with those freekicks, whipping them in all of a sudden?’.
"He was terrific, I can’t say any more about him really, can I? He’s a great lad and he’ll get his goal, it’ll start again for him.”
The Town boss was pleased with late subs Luke Varney and Leon Best: "Reg had been on and had a great cameo on Tuesday. They’re not starters yet, but you’ve seen what they can do when they get on the pitch, so they’ll both be playing in the U23s on Monday night.
"I want them really up to speed so they can start a game. Pits has been different class but I don’t think we can keep whipping him every week like that either, Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday.”
Regarding the timing of his substitutions, he added: "Somebody just asked me downstairs if I was aware of Aston Villa scoring goals in the last minute [and that was why I made the changes then].
"Absolutely not, there was no me being smart thinking ‘Villa concede in the last minute, I’ll try and exploit that’.
"Every team if you put Leon Best and Luke Varney on would have a problem if they go on and contribute the way they did.
"And they’d changed it, they’d gone 3-4-3 almost and I thought we could handle that with 4-4-2 and the game wasn’t wide open where they were passing through us, so I got two strikers on who I knew had 15 minutes in them.”
Regarding Teddy Bishop, who took a bang on the head and having come on as a sub was replaced in the final minutes, McCarthy said he wasn’t sure how he was after the game.
"I don’t know, I’ve no idea, I don’t think he knows yet,” he added. "He’s got a cut on his nose, I don’t know if he broke it, they’re saying he did. He’s too good looking anyway. It won’t do him any harm.
"It’s probably ruined his night out in Cambridge tonight, but so what! He’ll be fine, he got bang in the face, he’ll be all right, he’ll be OK.
"It was the right thing for him to come off, all the others were clear-eyed and still going OK. The last thing I needed was him just to capitulate in the last 10 minutes because of the bang on the nose.”
The Town boss also had praise for full debutant Tom Lawrence: "I’m really pleased with him, he’s a good acquisition. He can play in any one of those three or four slots.
"Wide left, wide right, in behind, he can play up front, him and Rhodesy [Jordan Rhodes] murdered at Blackburn last year. Very pleased with him, his delivery from corners and set pieces is good.
"He’s been booked and he’s a good competitor, he goes and tries to nick things. All you have to do when you’ve been booked, you just start to get tired and you miss the tackle by a bit and you’re suddenly walking off. I didn’t need that. He did nearly an hour. It was enough. I’d got fresh legs.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy’s assistant manager Terry Connor missed the game as his mother passed away last week. Blues U23s coach Gerard Nash replaced him on the bench.
Town owner Marcus Evans watched the game from his box in the East of England Co-op Stand, the first time he’s been at Portman Road since the start of the Rio ticketing controversy.
Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo felt the game was among the better goalless draws: "I don’t think it was a boring 0-0. I think there was some excitement in the game. We were very resilient as a team today.
"We defended well against the threat of Ipswich. I think in the first half we were better on the ball, trying to create a little bit of danger and had some half-chances.
"In the second half it was a bit more difficult but I think when you play away and you get a point I think it’s always a good point, especially the way we had to fight for this point as well.”