Leicester boss Steve Cooper said his side expected to beat the Blues but will have to accept a point having equalised in the 94th minute against 10-man Town, adding that he didn’t see the incident in which the Blues ought to have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Conor Chaplin.
Cooper’s Foxes started the game brightly but were on the back foot for a long spell in the middle of the match in which Leif Davis put Town in front before the game changed on referee Tim Robinson’s failure to award the penalty and then Kalvin Phillips’s harsh red card moments afterwards. Jordan Ayew came off the bench to grab the leveller deep in injury time to leave the Blues still looking for their first victory of the season.
"We came here to win and, don’t think I’m saying this with any arrogance, we expected to win today,” said the former Nottingham Forest boss, who watched the game from the stands due to a touchline ban.
"We really wanted to come with that mentality. A draw is what it ended up being and it’s a much better result for us than Ipswich.
"A draw is what it is and we have to accept it. It’s a point away from home in the Premier League, even though we’re disappointed we didn’t win, it’s not the end of the world. Out of the two teams it will be a better result for us.”
Reflecting on his side’s display, he added: "Performance-wise, we started the game well and ended the game well. We knew that if we played close to our level with the players we have, we could be the superior team in the game.
"We expected Ipswich to press us more than they did and maybe that’s why we dropped off our intensity from the start, and perhaps why we fell into what Ipswich wanted and allowed them to get a bit of hope in the game. There were spells where we had to concede a bit of territory and it was on us how that played out.
"The second half, we could have started better but I wouldn’t say we were miles the second-best team. They scored a goal of great quality, there’s no about about that. That can happen in this league.
"We settled again and responded well in terms of showing composure in the game. We forced the red card. Then we were becoming the dominant team again, but that was always going to be the case because of the 10 men and Ipswich protecting a 1-0. That’s how it is and we’d be the same in that situation.
"Facundo [Buonanotte] had a good chance in the latter stages, Jordan with his first touch was as good a chance as the one he scored. We just needed to keep going.
"Bouba [Soumaré] has done amazing and then Jordan and Vards [Jamie Vardy] have combined with great excellence and experience in a real chaotic moment.
"That’s what you need because they would have known that there wouldn’t have been too many more opportunities to have a moment like they created. They showed great composure, they showed their level and their experience at its best. It was a great goal.”
He added: "I can’t think of Mads [Hermansen] having to make any really, really big saves, or even competent saves. It was more about deliveries in the box, free-kicks and all that sort of stuff.
"We were the team that created the real chances in the game and would like to have scored more than one, of course, but we got one in the end.”
Asked about the penalty incident, Cooper responded: "For us or for them, I can’t remember. I didn’t see it. I do remember, it was from a free-kick, wasn’t it? No, I didn’t see it. I remember the moment though.”