Town skipper Dara O’Shea has expressed his pride at becoming the first Blues captain to lead a side to East Anglian derby glory for 16 years.
O’Shea and his teammates finally ended a 6,013-day wait for a victory over Norwich City when they defeated the Canaries 3-1 at Portman Road yesterday.
The last captain to lead Town to a derby win was local boy Richard Wright in April 2009 when Jim Magilton’s Blues won 3-2 on home turf.
"Extremely proud,” O’Shea told TownTV. "Extremely proud of the group, proud of the fans and proud of the town. To be the group who have done this now is special.
"We always felt we were going to do it and we’re happy with how we went and did it. It was never going to be easy and we weren’t always going to be allowed to play the football we wanted to, but I’m proud we were able to play the football we wanted to.
"Derby days take a lot of grit and determination and I think we showed that in abundance today.”
O’Shea thanked the club’s support for their input, particularly Blue Action for the coach greeting as the squad arrived at the ground.
"We want to give a massive shoutout to the fans,” he added. "The welcome we had was special and I think if you ask any of the players they will tell you they had goosebumps. It’s really appreciated.
"Sixteen years is a long time to go without the bragging right and we’re proud we’ve been able to deliver for them.”
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O’Shea is one of four players in yesterday’s squad joining up with the Republic of Ireland side for their World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Armenia along with Sammie Szmodics, Kasey McAteer and Jack Taylor. On-loan Blues winger Chieo Ogbene is also in the party.
Elsewhere, former Blues academy coach Gerard Nash’s Cork City secured a place in the FAI Cup final by beating St Patrick’s Athletic 3-0 on Friday.
The Leesiders, who despite their cup success look destined to be relegated from the League of Ireland Premier Division, will face Shamrock Rovers in the final on November 9th.