Town claimed their third successive win on the road as Brett Pitman’s 10th minute goal saw the Blues to a 1-0 victory in their first league game against the MK Dons at Stadium MK. Town ought to have won the game by a greater margin with the Blues failing to take a number of good chances.

Mick McCarthy named an unchanged starting XI, while Ryan Fraser returned to the bench having come back to the club yesterday after undergoing his rehab after his knee injury with parent club AFC Bournemouth.

The MK Dons, who the Blues were facing in the league for the first time, included ex-Town man Dean Bowditch from the start, while former keeper Cody Cropper was on the bench.

There was a late change of referee with Gavin Ward, who took charge of last month's 2-2 draw with Wolves, taking over from Andrew Madley, who switched to fourth official.

November’s Championship Player of the Month Daryl Murphy struck the game’s first shot in the third minute but scraped his edge-of-the-area effort past MK keeper David Martin’s left post.

A minute later on-loan Norwich winger Josh Murphy was sent away down the left and the ball was half-cleared to Nicky Maynard but the one-time Blues target was challenged by Cole Skuse before he could get in a shot.

Play remained in the Blues’ half and former Town striker Bowditch curled a shot not too far wide from just outside the box.

The Dons, whose fans peopled their now fully seated stadium somewhat sporadically, had seen most of the ball in the early stages but in the 10th minute the Blues went in front.

Jonathan Douglas’s deft pass found Chambers wide on the right and the Town skipper curled a cross past Samir Carruthers to Pitman, who stooped to nod home his sixth goal of the season from six yards.

Town had a good chance to make it 2-0 in the 16th minute when Freddie Sears, again operating in his left-sided role, chased Jonas Knudsen’s ball over the top down the middle. The striker lobbed the advancing Martin but sent the ball wide of the keeper’s left post.

Douglas half-volleyed over on 20, then moments later the Irishman was booked for a foul on Carruthers on halfway.

Dons’ winger Murphy shot goalwards from distance, however, he failed to test Blues keeper Dean Gerken in the 27th minute with the home side having most of the ball but with Town having looked the more threatening team when breaking.

Two minutes later, Gerken tipped Carl Baker’s cross from the right over his crossbar, then from the resultant corner Town’s Murphy headed Carruthers’s effort out for another flag-kick, although the ball looked to have been going well wide in any case.

Town should have made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when Murphy was sent away on goal to the right by a Tommy Smith pass and beat the advancing Martin to the ball but sent it wide and off the stanchion.

Bowditch shot well over from 25 yards on 38 with the home side, then two minutes later Kyle McFadzean headed over from a corner taken by the one-time Blues academy player.

Neither side created another serious opportunity before the break, Town were unable to make anything of Murphy being sent away down the left, before referee Gavin Ward blew his whistle.

Having claimed the lead via Pitman’s well-worked goal, in much the same way as was the case at Charlton a fortnight ago, the Blues didn’t have to take the game to the home side, who were unable to significantly test the Town defence and keeper despite having a lot of the ball.

Town had continued to look a threat on the break and on another day might well have found themselves 3-0 up at the break.

A second goal in the second half looked like it should be enough to seal a third away win on the trot for the Blues and Murphy wasn’t too far away within a minute of the restart.

The Irish international was sent away on the left, cut in and hit an effort across the face and wide.

Baker hit Smith with the Dons’ first shot of the second half in the 52nd minute, then four minutes later Maynard headed Carruthers’s cross over.

There was a bigger scare for the Blues a minute later when Smith failed to clear on the right of the area and the ball ricocheted to Bowditch, who shot across Gerken and just wide, off a defender according to referee Ward.

The Blues had looked less of a threat on the counter-attack since the break but on 58, after Ainsley Maitland-Niles had bravely won a header on halfway, Pitman’s hook sent Sears away on goal only for a linesman’s flag - perhaps harshly - to halt him in his tracks.

Chambers was booked for a foul on Murphy and his subsequent protest on 62. From the freekick Bowditch touched the ball to the on-loan Canary, who drove it powerfully into the box and Maynard headed over from close range. It was as close as the home side had come to a goal and the former Bristol City man’s sharp header might well have been on target.

Former Blue Bowditch made way soon after along with Baker with Ben Reeves and Daniel Powell - who went to ground to claim a rather ambitious penalty within a minute of coming on - taking over.

Town began to create a few more opportunities, Knudsen sending over a dangerous ball from the left on 66 which was flicked away from Blues striker Murphy.

Five minutes later, Murphy was found in space on the edge of the home side’s box by Skuse but blazed over when he had more time to take the ball closer to goal.

Sears was booked for a foul on Spence on the MK right as the game moved towards its final 15 minutes. The Blues made heavy weather of clearing the freekick but the Dons were unable to create an opening.

Town again went close to doubling their lead in the 78th minute when Maitland-Niles crossed low from the right and Murphy turned the ball just wide at the near post. That was the on-loan Arsenal man’s last action with Jonny Parr taking over.

Reeves wasn’t far away from making the Blues pay for all their missed chances in the 80th minute, the sub unleashing a powerful strike which looked to take a deflection before Gerken pushed it wide of his post.

Within a minute Gerken was in action again, tipping a dipping Carruthers effort over and onto the roof of the net.

For the first time in the game the Blues were being put under pressure, winger Murphy seeing a subsequent effort deflect over, then Gerken claimed a looping deflected ball ahead of Maynard.

Reeves hooked a 20-yard half-volley through to the Town keeper on 85, then a minute later David McGoldrick replaced Sears and for the home side Rob Hall took over from Jordan Spence.

Skuse and McGoldrick exchanged passes in the 89th minute, but the midfielder’s shot from the edge of the box was straight at Martin.

Soon after, sub Hall cut in from the right and hit a shot which Gerken palmed wide of his left post.

From the corner, McGoldrick was sent away on his own in the MK half but defenders retreating and no team-mates joining him turned away from goal and won a throw, keeping the ball in the Dons’ half.

The home side put the Blues under pressure in the closing stages, keeper Martin coming up for a corner, then Knudsen was pole-axed by Hall’s pile-driver and required treatment before referee Ward blew his final whistle.

A third successive win on the road for the Blues, which really ought to have been as comfortable as the victories at Rotherham and Charlton.

Town might have been made to rue all their missed chances in the closing stages as MK rallied but Gerken again made saves when he was required to see the Blues up into sixth at least until this afternoon’s games have been played.

MK Dons: Martin, Spence (Hall 86), McFadzean, Kay, Lewington (c), Potter, Carruthers, Baker (Powell 62), Bowditch (Reeves 62), Murphy, Maynard. Unused: Cropper, Hodson, Poyet, Gallagher.

Town: Gerken, Chambers, Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Maitland-Niles (Parr 78), Sears (McGoldrick 86), Pitman, Murphy. Unused: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Coke, Tabb, Fraser. Gavin Ward (Surrey). Att; 13,520.

Photo: Action Images

MrDiddle added 17:00 - Dec 12 I thought Douglas had a particularly poor game today. Also thought there were a couple of occasions again where Tommy Smith was found wanting. Also thought when AMN went off for Parr we seemed to lose it completely. Come on boys sort it out! Overall a pretty poor showing which could have been a lot worse had it not been for MK Dons who imo are going straight back from whence they came to League 1. We can play a hell of a lot better than that. All that said, 3 points in the bag and we move on. Up the town!!

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Seasider added 17:02 - Dec 12 The stats say that they had nearly twice as much possession as us,Ipswich,as has so often been the case this season,seem unable to string more than a couple of passes together,and give the ball to the opposition at least as many times as their own players;certainly this was the case today. Once again it was lucky we were playing against lowly opposition,who played neat passing football;but to no avail until the last 15min when some of our players notably Pitman and Douglas were off the pace. Freddie was ineffective as an offensive player possibly because he spent a lot of time in his own half,where he was when the ball was kicked by Pitman,doesn't lino know the rules? On the plus side, this season town are beating the lower clubs,and kept a clean sheet,thanks once again to Gerks. Not sure if this is a plus or minus;but Chambo will be out as he has amassed 5 yellow cards,which presumably give Jonny Parr a game at last!

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algarvefan added 17:18 - Dec 12 Carsey, you have summed it up for me, not pretty from either side, a very poor game, best forgotten except for the three points. All game we lumped the ball forward and had no width especially in the second half. Having watched Town for over 50 years I'm used to us trying to play football the right way, where was our passing game? On this evidence we are far from being good enough for the Premier League, we need some creativity in the middle of the park, to at least help our game flow.

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blueboy1981 added 17:37 - Dec 12 ........ like it, or not people (and I don't) - what we are seeing is 'the McCarthy way'. Nothing, but nothing, will ever change that.
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runaround added 17:39 - Dec 12 Well that was a lot more nerve wracking than it should have been but we won & we're sixth so happy days. I thought we defended well as a team & created good chances when we went forward. However the failure to take more than just one of those chances meant we came under considerable pressure toward the end & were hanging on a bit. But hang on we did & the result is the most important thing! Shout out to Skuse, Douglas, Knudsen & Smith who were all excellent today. So we're in a play off place but improvement is required if we are to stay there

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NSL added 17:47 - Dec 12 Were there 3,000 Ipswich fans there? Sky didn't mention that once and actually seemed very anti-Ipswich in the commentary box I thought.
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jas0999 added 17:55 - Dec 12 Not an inspiring performance, but we won, kept a clean sheet and picked up three points away from home. So, overall pleasing. There are tougher tests to come, but if we can hold our own and add a couple of quality players in January, then who knows. Thought we squander some good chances in the first half and in the end had to rely on Gerken to win the points. Lovely to be sixth.

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blueboy1981 added 18:02 - Dec 12 ....... not in the same class as the Middlesboro's of the Championship - just about better than the MK Dons - therefore mid table is about what we can expect come May 2016. Anything better than that will be more luck than judgement - and certainly a bonus.
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essex57 added 18:15 - Dec 12 Such a waste of a great modern stadium, ground out a result where we should of won comfortably,onto Craven cottage one of my favourite fixtures. Not much mention of Humble pie or Christmas pudding to nite.
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runningout added 19:01 - Dec 12 although a win, beating all in front of us is the aim of the game...Which we are more than capable of ie: Teams in top half
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TimmyH added 19:54 - Dec 12 Usually Mick struggles against the lower teams in the division (particularly at home) but to beat all 3 lowly teams away is a plus. But looking from now until just after the New Year will really see if we have made any progression since the winless streak a while ago. Fulham (A) Derby (h) QPR (h) Brighton (a) and Burnley (a) - lets see if we're still just in the play-offs after those! - I personally would say not.

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Geoff added 20:08 - Dec 12 Do not get carried away we still look poor against inferior opposition,we need some quality in January always look like conceding , will not go up unless Scrooge gets the moths out of his wallet.
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warktheline added 20:45 - Dec 12 Essex57, had to be you, didn't it! Try debating or exchanging views for a change.
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StowTractorBoy added 20:58 - Dec 12 Some fans have to find so many negatives on here. We won we did not concede and we are back in the play off places. Well done to the back five who did well to keep the MK late rally at bay. A lovely stadium much better than when we played there in the league cup a few years back. Carruthers ran the game at times today and was behind most of the MK threat. Gerks did his job well and Knudsen had his best game in a Town shirt. Not a vintage performance but good enough for me to celebrate in our hotel just outside MK tonight. Another win on Tuesday would be great but Fulham will be far stiffer proposition than today. Finally Gavin Ward in the middle today was not the best poorly supported by his linos.

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cornishblu added 21:00 - Dec 12 ...back in cornwall after a 600 mile round trip......simply DREADFUL performance...nothing to get excited about...as soon as we meet a better team aka Middlesbrough our one dimensional approach to any game gets found out .....MM for me summed up his stubbornness when telling mcgoldrick to get ready on 75 crowd shouted his name so he go brought on parr....stubborn, lacks plan b , and can't see what the vast majority of supporters can,...this man has taken us as far as we can go...if you like him happy days you must be satisfied wth this type of performances ......if you don't like the week in week out uninspiring no change dreadful football it's time to take a hard look ....we are going nowhere playing like this .....as I said one word DREADFUL

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Gazelle added 21:17 - Dec 12 We were struggling before Jonny Parr came on but he looked completely lost so we effectively played with 10 for the last 15 minutes. Should have been 3 up in the first half hour and had it not been for the incompetent Lino we would have been but things went downhill after that.
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Gazelle added 21:19 - Dec 12 We were struggling before Jonny Parr came on but he looked completely lost so we effectively played with 10 for the last 15 minutes. Should have been 3 up in the first half hour and had it not been for the incompetent Lino we would have been but things went downhill after that.
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TimmyH added 21:23 - Dec 12 Jonny Parr completely lost on right side of midfield never!?! - Mick would never dream of playing him in a position that he's never done well in! :)
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Minneapolis_ITFC added 21:52 - Dec 12 Maybe we didn't deserve the win, maybe it was an overall poor game, maybe there were few positives to take from it etc etc, but all said, we got the victory and not looking back. By all reports Gerken put in a solid performance, our forwards had ample opportunity themselves to score more than they did. That they did not, could be a concern to some, but once again one strike was enough and we kept the opposition out with it. Into the top six also so Yes, it may have been a poor game overall, but everyone on these pages would have taken it before start of play. You don't get points for pretty soccer, only hitting the opposition goal. We did that, they could not - (we) take three welcome points and move on to the next fixture.

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essex57 added 22:04 - Dec 12 Strange if we had lost there would of been 6 pages of posts as at 10pm there's only 2 !!!!!!
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essex57 added 22:07 - Dec 12 I wouldn't waste my time debating with you Warktheline.
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BlueandTruesince82 added 22:12 - Dec 12 We did deserve to win. A poot game byt were far more threatening and had more of the better chances. The amount of possession they had was somewhat due to the ref blowing up for every dive, slip and fall by anyone in white and gave as practically nothing. The offside decision against Sears in the second half in an applaing inditement of officiating in the modern game which appears to br getting worse not better across all the leagues. Parr wad terrible, he was on to shore up the right hand side, Freddie did a lot of running and they were starting to get some success down there, really all he had to do was offer Chambo some protection, a right back should be capable of that even if he doesn't usually play there. Same basic duties, all he had to was defend a little higher up the pitch than normal. I understand Micks reticence to play him st RB because from what I've seen he can't tackle. I was made up when we signed him so it's a real disappointment. Yes there was 3 k town fans all waving inflatables and making far more noise, no atmosphere from the home support at all barring 5 mins when they had 3 corners in a row.

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GiveusaWave added 22:32 - Dec 12 Poor game as a footballing spectacle, but really doesn't matter now as we picked up the 3 points. Officials had a poor game too. Have no idea what was wrong with Parr when he came on. He didn't seem to be sure of his position. Like others have said, great game from Knudsen. cOYB!
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Kirbmeister added 23:38 - Dec 12 So MM got us to 6th last season with practically no money to spend on players and relying on loans and freebies. Same this season and we sit 6th again in this slog of a league and have only lost 5 games all season. Still most on here aren't happy. So what? Sack MM and take on another manager who will also have sod all to spend but will make us into world beaters who will stroll into premiership. I'd love us to be able to sign some top players but its not going to happen. We remain an average Championship side. Could be a lot worse we could actually be losing most weeks and in the bottom half. And I actually agree with Blueboy1981.

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Beattiesballbag added 00:15 - Dec 13 As usual there's not a team in the championship that can't pass the ball better than us, even MLN is so compliant with the defending mindset that he looks to pass the ball instead of having a pop at goal when the opportunity arises. It really isn't about the results anymore as it doesn't matter where you are in the league if that defensive game plan is all you got to look forward to, we used to be known for our football win or lose, now all we're known for is our hoofball , even if we won 20 games on the trot could you really watch that each week with out being disappointed!

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