Town boss Joe Royle was pleased with his entire team after a Darren Bent hat-trick helped defeat Walsall 3-1 at the Bescot Stadium.
Royle said after the game: "I was delighted. I thought the performance was excellent, particularly as in training I did not know who was going to be fit.
"Richard Naylor played with a broken toe and after having two injections, and it was a shame we conceded one goal from a freekick."
The Town manager also had praise for debutant loanee Matt Elliott: "Matt was super. He steadied us, nothing flash, but he headed the ball clear and passed it well.
"Initially we have Matt for a month but I hope to persuade him to stay longer.
"Our goalkeeper did not have an awful lot to do and it was nice to get the three points.
Darren Bent's performance unsurprisingly impressed Royle, although he says there are aspects of his game which need work: "He has got a good scoring record but is still a bit naïve in the game.
"His natural asset is pace, and with finishing like that he could go to the top. We had 12 shots in the second half.
"They had one good break in the second half when Paul Merson missed the chance at the far post which could have put a bit of pressure on us.
"But our midfield men dominated the game and we have done that in many games this season. Only Wigan have overrun us."
Walsall boss Colin Lee admitted his side were second best: "We came up against a team who are a little bit better than us.
"I think we probably played better than on Saturday, but this time we were playing against a better team - and I have often been an admirer of the young boy Bent.
"Put him in our team and we would probably have won the game. He has pace and can score goals."
Lee felt his side deserved a penalty when Fabian Wilnis clashed with Gary Birch and may have handled the ball: "I thought it was a diabolical decision. I thought their defender was playing in goal."
Walsall were unable to play new signing Craig Burley due to confusion regarding registering him: "I told the lad he would be playing, but there was a misunderstanding by our club with regard to his registration.
"Their understanding was that he had to be registered by 5 o'clock on Monday, but in fact it was 12 o'clock."
The Saddlers were also without Vinnie Samways, apparently ill in Spain and seemingly not impressing his manager, who described the midfielder's illness as "the longest flu in the history of football" after the game.