Boss Jim Magilton questioned why referee Neil Swarbrick failed to send off Norwich keeper David Marshall after he had awarded the Blues a second half penalty during the 3-2 victory over the Canaries. The Town manager felt his team were worthy of their win.

Magilton admitted that referees don't always give spotkicks in similar circumstances but questioned why the keeper wasn't dismissed for bringing Lisbie down: "Some you get and some you don't.

"I never want to see a player sent off, but why has he not even spoken to the goalkeeper?

"It was a great break and he flipped it over the keeper and Kevin knows what he is doing and goes down.

"The referee on another day may have not given it but it was a close one. I haven't seen it back so we just have to go with the referee's decision.

"But if it is a foul, and it was because he gave it, then he has to go. But he didn't even get booked.

"It was contentious but in the second half we turned it up a notch and played some great stuff.

"It was an important win for the fans and we deserved it in my opinion. Norwich threw the kitchen sink at us but we defended well and saw it out."

Lisbie told the club site that Marshall brought him down, but disagreed with his manager about the red card: "The keeper definitely caught me.

"I toe-poked the ball past him and he clipped me. I don't know if I was going to get the ball or that it was a goalscoring opportunity, so on that basis I think the referee got it right. It wasn't a red card but it was a penalty.

"It was a big win for us. I think we deserved it and the fans deserved it as well."

Somewhat predictably Norwich boss Bryan Gunn saw the penalty incident differently: "It's crazy, it seems to be every week I get stick from some fans for talking about referees, but Jim said to me that he didn't think it was a penalty.

"Kevin Lisbie said to me coming off the pitch that he wasn't going to get the ball. His momentum took him away and he wasn't even facing the goal when he went down.

"There was minimal contact and the referee was back on the halfway line, he was miles away from it and Lisbie handballed it as well. But the referee said it was a penalty and that's the be all and end all."

"We'll have to wait and see what happens next week. There are lots of games that could have an affect on our future but we can't worry about that.

"We have a huge game [a week on] Monday night now [at home to Reading] and that is all our focus is on. We stay confident, the fans were magnificent and were right behind us and if we can win both our games we'll be in with a shout.

"A lot of managers have said to me that we are too good to go down but we are in the situation we are in. We have to win and do the business against Reading."

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls