Town manager Roy Keane was delighted with debutant keeper Brian Murphy and left-back Shane O’Connor (pictured), who was making his first league appearance for the Blues, during the 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday.

Keane told the club site: "Brian didn't have too much to do but he made a couple of good saves and he looked composed.

"Good goalkeepers often don't have a lot to do because they get the players in front of them organised and he can be pleased with himself.

"Shane can be happy with his performance as well. He was excellent for us. He probably would have made his [league] debut for us earlier but he had a knee injury that put him out for a while.

"He's had a good upbringing at Liverpool. You can tell that by the way he wasn't flustered when under pressure on the ball.

"It didn't work out for him there but that happens. You can get lost at big clubs. We've given him a year and he's learning all the time. He's a popular lad with the other players as well."

O’Connor’s only previous game for the Town first team was the Carling Cup tie at Shrewsbury earlier in the season, when he came on as a half-time sub, a match coincidentally refereed by today’s official Mick Russell.

Photo: Action Images

Fatcatevans added 18:06 - Feb 21 Completely agree with Nunny about Petta's rantings. He is an absolute disgrace. What a sad poisoned minded little man. If you hate Keane go tell him in person. Now that would make for good tv.
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StowTractorBoy added 18:57 - Feb 21 This was a massive win and after Tuesdays debacle I thought the writing was on the wall and my sway on Roy Keane did change for the worse. The jury is still out and I so badly want him to succeed but at the moment I am just so relieved that we collected 3 points yesterday. It could all tournaround again on Tuesday as Scunny will be a far different propostion to Sheff Wed and we will do well to keep Hayes and Hooper in check. I'll take a point now.

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ipswich1992 added 19:13 - Feb 21 Massive game on tuesday i think a loss would be keanes last game we cant afford to lose games against the teams around us. Dont care how scrappy the games are untill the end of the season as long as we pick up the points to keep us up. Id happily take fifteen of the worst games ive ever seen if it means we win 1-0 all of the time. A win on tuesday takes us much further up the table and its soo close down there i think we will just about stay up. I'd be more worried as a fan of QPR who shouldnt have got rid of magilton (sound familier?) Still dont think keane is up to the challange as Ipswich manager but i hope he proves me wrong!

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tractorboysmith added 20:01 - Feb 21 agreeing with robert you have to support the club whoever is managing or playing anyway, murphy did well just needs to learn how to kick out of his hands and o'connor looks a good little left back if you ask me COYB!!!
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DazzaITFC added 20:30 - Feb 21 Took my sons to Sheffield for our first ever away game - the 4 hour journey home felt much quicker knowing we had secured 3 points!!! Every single point counts from hereon in, I am not sure what miracle display some of the "so called" fans on here expect. We have been at or near the bottom all season - a team that low on confidence needs to grind out a result or two and build on it from there! Too many on this forum seem to either expect miracles or are just looking for another reason to roll out the same diatribe! At the end of the day everyone is entitled to an opinion. We all love ITFC and that is the single most important thing at the minute. Not whether we think Keane has spent well or whether you like him as a person or not! NONE of it matters - all that should matter is survival. Put this god awful season behind us and rebuild for next year! One thing is for sure - we stick together and we are stronger. As supporters we need to do exactly what we are asking of the players - give 100%. As for people like Petta - a true SUPPORTER would never want to see their team lose regardless. Go back to your budgies board! ITFC needs true fans and nothing less! COYB!

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bedsitfc added 20:55 - Feb 21 great win and 2 good debuts if we win tuesday that will be 9 points out of the 12 on offer from the 4 straight away games i would have took that before QPR game
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bedsitfc added 21:00 - Feb 21 petta - nevermind we wont go down like your lot have, and it must be nice for you to be on a championship teams forum maybe norwich will be up next season bless ya.
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naa added 21:04 - Feb 21 DrJekyll: I'm glad you think you're such a wonderful person and are happy to criticise others without ever having met them. What a stand up guy you are. Sorry that I'm worried about the fate of my club in the hands of someone who so far has shown nothing to suggest he is the right man for the job (abd a lot to suggest that he isn't). If he can stop us getting relegated, brilliant, and I'm truly happy we won yesterday unlike the idiot Petta but it doesn't mean Keane is suddenly the right man for the job. After all, although it worked yesterday (against a team who were truly awful) he made many more changes again. Does this not worry people? That he's still has absolutely no idea what his best 11 is.

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slaughteredskipper added 21:47 - Feb 21 Am a first time poster but have been reading twtd comments from a mixture of fans this season and thought I could no longer stay silent but add my opinion. I think what finally did it was the guy that actually wanted town to lose! Eh? I don't get it? When RK took the helm I was somewhat taken aback as I thought he was a bit too fiery for an Ipswich boss but was excited about his appointment. And I still am! After all he said from the outset that he was wanting to get Ipswich promoted within 2 seasons and the first is not yet complete. Yes I know the season has hardly helped placate his critics, but I can think of a number of clubs that have stuck with the manager and reaped the long term benefits, and similarly a number of clubs that have regularly sacked and reappointed and floundered! I guess in a nutshell what I'm trying to say is 'Keep the faith people!' After 2 years if we are still in our current position then you can tell 'slaughtered skipper' to shut up - which I will gladly do! COYB

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Skip73 added 21:47 - Feb 21 Great result yesterday, I have to admit that after the result and performance second half the other night I thought we looked doomed, it reminded me of the Bolton game afew years back when we lost 4-1 and went down, but this result shows that I may have been a bit hasty. Petta's comments are ridiculous, saying he's gutted that we won, he sounds like a scummer. Good possibility for another 3 pts on Tuesday but we'll have to concentrate right up to the final whistle as I see that Scunny scored deep into injury time yesterday and we'll have to watch they don't do it again.

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bedsitfc added 22:06 - Feb 21 i think roy does know his best 11 but for some reason they dont seam to play together so he has to change the team about because he dont have the experiance of fabio cappello, but i do hope the club stick with him as i for i would rather a young ambitions manager at the helm than a slow steady one. please people remember this is his 2 team he has managed and you dont play for 2 out of 3 of the best managers the game has ever seen without learning the ropes.

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TractorRoyNo1 added 22:41 - Feb 21 You should be ashamed of yourself, i suspect in truth you were more upset that the cuttlefish-kids lost at home to the saints. PettaThat added 12:20 - Feb 21 I am gutted that we got three points yesterday, and what's worse other results went out way? I fear that relegation will be the only way that we can get of this clown. I'd rather be in Div.1 WITHOUT Keane than in the Premier League (or even the Champions League) with him! This bloke has completely ruined my Saturday afternoons!

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stinkiusminkius added 22:50 - Feb 21 Phew - what a vital result. Not a Keane fan, but massively relieved to get 3 points (as relegation was, and still is, a very realistic possibility). Interesting to see that there were no substitutions (apart from a straight striker swap in the 90th minute) which is a relief as previous games Keane has totally destabilised things with his changes. But we do have to keep our feet on the ground - again the win was against dire opposition (like the QPR game when they were shocking in the first half and we actually looked OK). We still arent very good and I still dont think Keane has the tactical nous, motivational skills, people skills, etc to get us where we should be. He's not the man for us, even if he does keep us up this season, which has been a shambles. Lets hope for survival, and then let ME take care of the business side of things.

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moomoosereni added 23:15 - Feb 21 I think bottom line on yesterday was that Roy got the team selection right. He HAS got it wrong a lot this season. But I agree with comments made above, we have to build on ground out results like this one and go from there. 3 points on tuesday would be great and things looking so very different. I'm not defending our very poor season, but it is also fair to say that this has been a very un-predictable season for many teams. Bristol City today for example. Been on a horrendous run of late, and then beat West Brom at home. It just shows that on any given day, any team can beat anyone from this division. Having said that, we should be doing better, obviously. But true fans do not wish for there team to lose/fail in order to prove a point and say to everyone "I told you so". Thats not what being a football fan is about.

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stinkiusminkius added 23:22 - Feb 21 This comment on a Sheff Weds fan site sums things up nicely. "The fact they are as far down the league as they are is criminal and if I was an Ipswich fan, looking at the wage budget that Keane presumably has as he brings in various ex-Premier League (well, Sunderland) players I'd expect a damn sight more than what I saw yesterday. They are a team of individual quality with little team cohesion by the looks of it. "

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brockleyblueboy added 08:41 - Feb 22 I would just like to say that I am not questioning what a "true Fan is" Everyone on this site is a true fan, well maybe except for petta (Never sully the name of Bobby petta he was quality) I don't know why people have to have a go for fans being positive. Like I have said many times before, I am the sort of person that always looks on the bright side because it makes life a bit more enjoyable because for me, supporting Ipswich is fun and I love the club - "The prime concern is ITFC (not RK) and making sure that that they 1. stay up this year and 2. improve next to be pushing in the playoffs." Isn't that what we all want and being positive doesn't mean I am ignoring the bad, I know its there but if you focus on the bad all the time you never get to see the good. We all love Ipswich and I love the opinions on here as 1 - it makes for gtood banter with fellow fans, 2 - It makes a little bit more fun 3 - the run in is throwing up all kinds of questions that I think everyone on here is right in their own way. All in all Ipswich till we die, all for one and one for all. The prime concern is ITFC (not RK) and making sure that that they 1. stay up this year and 2. improve next to be pushing in the playoffs.

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steed added 10:50 - Feb 22 i am pleased oconner was given his first start as i did say friday i thought he would start after some good displays for the reserves, hopefully at long last are left back problems are solved. Roy Keane will prove he will take ipswich up to the prem needs time. where would man utd be if they had sacked fergy when the fans were calling for him to be sacked. Same as the town fans wanted robson sacked the board backed him look were he took us. Thats why evans backs keane he is not a idiot and nows a good man when he sees one hence why he has a good business

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rockstar1981 added 11:13 - Feb 22 Petta = C*ck!!
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bennyblue added 11:51 - Feb 22 well said brocky i guess thats why a lot of us want to get rid of roy cause we care about the team and want to see town up there div 1 where we belong but it just doest look like roy can get us there and sometimes "quite a lot this year" it looks like he will take us the other direction we are nearer relegation than promotion not safe not scoring much not playing brilliant football. so wha tis happening ?

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dragonalfa added 12:47 - Feb 22 40 years of supporting this club has shown some highs and quite a few lows, but please no way can I understand the comments of petta. The one thing that makes town fans special is our support and commitment, please dont let us end up like many other clubs in this country. While RK is the manager I'll support him 100% and look forward to his eventual success. ITFC best club in the world.

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julesbda added 12:54 - Feb 22 i was pleased to see RK's comments on the BBC show . He was honest and straight to the point . He didn't blame anyone else except himself and said they were at the foot of the table due to his mistakes ....Well done RK ..you have just gained my respect !!...
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brockleyblueboy added 13:34 - Feb 22 "After all, although it worked yesterday (against a team who were truly awful) he made many more changes again. Does this not worry people? That he's still has absolutely no idea what his best 11 is." What would worry me if he did nothing. He is trying to put things right and it worked WE WON. At this moment I would settle for scrappy 1-0 wins rather than play lovely football and either draw or lose. The win is what counts.

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oldmantractor added 13:38 - Feb 22 people need to accept that keane is not going to lead us back to the promised land but its safer to let him continue to the last game of the season rather than risk changing manager now. Once we are safe, ME should immediately wield the axe in fashionably indecent haste and get curbishley in.
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byebyesheepshanks added 14:27 - Feb 22 We still don't know what our best 11 is. We just tinker away all the time & no one knows where they are. Who is the best 11? Please make a decision & play them. I dare say we will see another line up against Scunny. 3 points & a streaky 1-0 against permanantly relegation threatened Wednesday not exactly ground breaking. Let's get away from relegation on this thrown away season & leave ME to ring the changes.

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bedsitfc added 14:38 - Feb 22 i dont get some people on here one minute they are saying "its not the ipswich way" next they want keane sacked for a poor season, sir bobby, fergie are examples of what happens when owners back managers. i think he should be given next season and if we still finish outside the top ten then look at change but i know if keane is here next season we will go up.
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