Boss Mick McCarthy hopes the Blues’ 3-0 home victory over Charlton will persuade those fans who were back at Portman Road for the first time in a while to return for future games. A crowd of 26,157 watched second-placed Town defeat the Addicks, their biggest home gate in almost four years.

“It’s a happy day, it was great, wasn’t it?” McCarthy said. “It’s nice when you get that backing from the supporters and that trust starts to come back that you don’t let them down when you get 26,000 in.

“When you get a little bit of trust and a bit of faith shown to the team, I’ve been there, you get a good crowd and suddenly they get beat and everybody goes ‘It’s the same old, same old, same old’. Hopefully they’re not saying that and they will come back.”

The win was Town’s ninth at home this season, but McCarthy points out their excellent form - they’re unbeaten in 11, winning eight of those games - also extends to away matches.

“We’ve had good results away from home as well,” he added. “The home form has been good but we have to travel everywhere, I’ve always said we’re geographically challenged when we have six, seven or eight-hour trips to get to Bolton or Burnley last year.

“We have some long trips, but they all have to come here, they all have to make their way down, however they get here. And it’s a schlepp for them and so they’ve got to be ready when they come here.”

With Portman Road increasingly a fortress, McCarthy says opposition clubs will inevitably become wary when visiting Suffolk: “I think we’re getting a bit of respect from people, and if we’re not after having the results that we’ve had there’d be something sadly wrong, wouldn’t there?

“It’s certainly not a partizan, nasty place to come and play, Ipswich. I’ve been here and I’ve played here and I’ve managed teams here.

“But you don’t have to have that, you have to have a decent team and at the moment we’re playing all right.”

The Town boss says everyone was delighted to see David McGoldrick net his first goal in open play since November 1st late in the match having hit both posts and the bar earlier in the match.

“I think we were all as happy for him as he was for himself,” McCarthy said. “He was relieved, he’s had a couple of chances and I think even at the end Murph tried to slot him in again to get another one. It was lovely he got his goal because he’s been playing well.”

McGoldrick, who has now scored seven goals, has played second fiddle to 17-goal Championship top scorer Daryl Murphy this season, but McCarthy says the Blues’ number 10 isn’t doing too much different.

“It’s just the way it is, isn’t it?” he added. “They always get you goals. I think Murph was a willing accomplice for him last year when he got all his goals and it’s just changed. But he’s got one tonight and that might signal him scoring a few goals, let’s hope it does.”

Tommy Smith scored his fourth of the season (although he is also still claiming Christophe Berra’s goal in the Leeds match) and his second in two games and McCarthy says he knows what’s motivating the New Zealand international defender.

“We all had a sweep and they had to say how many goals they’re going to get and had to stick in 100 quid,” he continued.

“They get their money back if they get their goals. If they don’t, it goes to charity. And he won’t want to give that 100 quid away, that’s what’s going on, let me tell you!

“He might be there now, I don’t know, I think he put himself down for seven or eight maybe, I’ve no idea.

“It was a bit of fun, I’m kidding. Tommy, I know he scored with his foot today, but he’s one of the best headers of the ball I’ve seen, technique-wise he’s outstanding.”

The Blues boss was delighted with the way Smith handled being dropped earlier in the season, fighting his way back into the team as soon as he got his chance to do so.

“As a manager I can’t ask for anything more than that from a player who was quite clearly upset and annoyed about being left out,” he said.

“That’s OK, it’s how you deal with it. You train properly and then when you get your chance you’ve got to be ready to go because the worst thing is that if you don’t do it properly and you get your chance and you play like a chump, you’re in trouble.”

Regarding Tyrone Mings, McCarthy added: “Tyrone was fit, but he’s had three days training in 17 since we played at Bolton. That’s not really preparation for a game like we had tonight.

“I have to wonder if Ty would play 46 games this season anyway. He’s still an outstanding left-back and I’ve no doubt he’ll get in the team at some stage, but it’s a team game, they’ve all got to play their part in it.”

Overall, the Blues manager was pleased with the display and result: “I just thought it was a good, solid performance against a good, solid side, who played well.

“They had their chances and we’ve had to tough it out at periods in that game. But overall I think we deserved to win.”

Told Town have now lost just once in their last 20 games, he added: “That’s great, I didn’t know that.”

Charlton manager Bob Peeters was disappointed to lose American international defender Oguchi Onyewu to injury in the warm-up: “We started well, we better in possession but you know Ipswich are all about set pieces and corners.

“Every set piece, every corner was dangerous and they have six players who are very strong with their heads and you can’t do anything about it.

“That’s why we wanted play Oguchi Onyewu but he pulled out five minutes before the game with a hamstring injury and you lose a very good header of the ball.

“And they scored from the set piece, they scored from the second ball and you knew it was going to be difficult. We had the ball cleared off the line.”

He added: “We said at half-time we were still in the game, but we needed to push it a little bit higher.

“I think we started well again, we had better possession but again from a second ball after a set piece they scored to make it 2-0 and that second goal cut our legs.

“And then at the end we were playing with only two at the back, we wanted to attack and we conceded the third goal.”

Photo: Action Images

sing added 23:33 - Dec 30 26170
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bluefeast added 23:34 - Dec 30 Up Up and Away. 3 points vs Derby then on paper our run is against sides with less confidence. If we can now average 8 points from every 12 available we ail be promoted.
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kizaitfc added 23:35 - Dec 30 Bit of sour grapes from their manager "all about set peices" it was their fault and our pressure that got us those 15 or so corners in a game that we completly dominated from start to finish. Have to say we have the best defence in the league by a country mile never look like we are going to concede even when we make a mistake
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kizaitfc added 23:35 - Dec 30 Bit of sour grapes from their manager "all about set peices" it was their fault and our pressure that got us those 15 or so corners in a game that we completly dominated from start to finish. Have to say we have the best defence in the league by a country mile never look like we are going to concede even when we make a mistake
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kizaitfc added 23:35 - Dec 30 Bit of sour grapes from their manager "all about set peices" it was their fault and our pressure that got us those 15 or so corners in a game that we completly dominated from start to finish. Have to say we have the best defence in the league by a country mile never look like we are going to concede even when we make a mistake
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OsborneOneNil added 23:38 - Dec 30 Hard cheese, Bob Peeters
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4-4-2 added 23:39 - Dec 30 their managers a bit of a pr*ck
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Europablue added 23:46 - Dec 30 I'm not sure if some people saw the same game as I did. To be honest we were pretty poor and rode our luck, left loads of gaps but kind of defended solidly while inviting Charlton onto us. It looked like they had an extra player in the middle. Having said that we were so much more clinical than Charlton, and although it was probably our worst performance for quite some time, the result was excellent. We still had a lot of decent chances, so could have scored more. Well done town. Great to win when not playing at our best, and the only thing that matters is the result and a good three points. Even so let's hope for a better performance against Derby.

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radiogaga added 23:53 - Dec 30 Cheers Peeters. Forgot to mention us cutting through your midfield and defence in open play too for the 3rd goal, & various other occasions in the second half. Oh well, keep these bitter managers whinging!
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sambean44 added 23:54 - Dec 30 Europablue you hit nail on the head mate
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jabberjackson added 23:55 - Dec 30 Probably more of a "schlepp" than a "slap" .... The journey to FPR for opposing teams, that is...
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Henners17 added 00:00 - Dec 31 Don't think Bob Peeters is an Ipswich fan. The 'hoof it men' managed by 'dinosaur' Mick go marching on.
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Reecex28 added 00:01 - Dec 31 Europablue you have it right - great result but our worse performance for a while. Kept losing the second ball and inviting Charlton on to us. Fortunately they didn't have much of a clue in final third. Need Hyam back with all his energy to win the 50/50s. At the end of the day it is a good team that wins without playing well.
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Jimmy86 added 00:28 - Dec 31 Well Bob Peeters we smashed you to bits so you crack on being disrespectful about our club. You are sitting in mid table whilst we are 2nd in the league. Just proves you didn't defend these "set pieces" properly. The 3rd Def wasn't a set piece was it?? We went through your midfield like a knife through butter.
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carsey added 00:32 - Dec 31 I for one am glad we won't have to listen to Bob Peeters remarks again this season - “We started well, we better in possession but you know Ipswich are all about set pieces and corners" - what utter Bull Sh!t£. I fully accept we were a bit workman like tonight but it was Ipswich pressure that forced the corners and free kicks and Ipswich players being alert that got the goals. He also seems to forget we passed and moved through them on several occasions. Fact is the man is trying to cover for his own inadequacies and his players lack of ability. Agree with @bluefeast regarding the Derby match - win or draw against them and we have to be confident with the fixtures in February and March by which time we should have opened up a gap..........

6

Samassi100Abou added 00:35 - Dec 31 Well oiled machine, is the only phrase I can use for mms side keep it up
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Tractorog added 00:49 - Dec 31 More watched the game tonight than the capacity at Carrow Road... says it all really.
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algarvefan added 02:03 - Dec 31 The bottom line now is results, no team plays well every game! I think MM has done an amazing job on a shoestring for us, expansive football may have to wait a while, we need to keep grinding out results. I didn't think we would be where we are now folks but we are in the driving seat and the atmosphere is good........dare to dream
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KiwiTractor added 05:04 - Dec 31 Watch out Yogi, Tommy is catching up at the top of the central defenders goal scoring table!
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gosblue added 07:50 - Dec 31 Loving the enthusiasm from our supporters on here but lets not start sounding like Leeds fans. We didn't dominate. Not our best performance but it's 3 points. it's another 'tricky' fixture safely negotiated. it was a typical Tuesday night championship scrap with some good football at times. Hats off to Charlton for having a go.
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wkj added 08:28 - Dec 31 @gosblue I couldn't agree more; my feeling is, it's gonna be harder to stay where we're at vs getting here in the first place. I would LOVE to see us break away, but any of the team we face now has to be treated like a 6 pointer.
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Luka added 08:34 - Dec 31 We weren't poor, but we weren't outstanding, which, to me, makes that win all the better. If we had have fired on all cylinders imagine what we would have done to them
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gorse added 09:08 - Dec 31 Give away that many fouls & corners Bob and you'll make a team of midgets look like set piece specialists.
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Steelmonkey added 09:14 - Dec 31 Europablue - Reecex28, I agree with you both, but what a fantastic win when not at our best. McGoldrick should have had a hat trick, - so unlucky - hope the goal he got sets him back on the road and settles him down, his play has looked a little anxious lately. Must have been a piece of town history made last night with the Hunt brothers on the field, Noel was unlucky not to score with his first touch. If there is not going to be a deal done with him then I'd like to thank him for his efforts, his goal away at Charlton was priceless. Excellent result, COYB's.

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hogster1970 added 09:49 - Dec 31 i agree with euro blue wasnt are best performance in open play, but think that was down to charlton, they dominated and out passed our midfield alot of the time, i personaly think we could have done with hyam in midfield to help close them down, how ever we kept at it playing percentage football and gained loads of corners, and got two goals from them. i think every 25k of ipswich fans there was begging didsy free kicks to go in and god was he close then he hit the bar, and wow what a great goal for him at the end, and what a chant when he went off. and god what a nice pain in the butt to get in, havnt seen it like that for years, portman road was packed from 7 oclock onwards, lets hope the arm chair supporters stick with the team no until the end of the season. but derby next i would be happy with a draw to be fair , but think we can take them.

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