Daryl Murphy celebrated his 33rd birthday by scoring two second-half goals to see the Blues to a 2-0 home victory over Blackburn Rovers. The Irishman netted the first from the penalty spot in the 67th minute and added the second three minutes from the end of scheduled time.

Brett Pitman and Jonathan Douglas returned to the Blues starting line-up for Ben Pringle and Kevin Bru, who dropped to the bench.

Town started with a three-man central midfield of Cole Skuse behind Douglas and Luke Hyam with Kevin Foley back amongst the subs, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles was left out of the 18.

With Blackburn playing a diamond formation, Pitman played behind front two Murphy and Freddie Sears.

Rovers, who were playing their 10th game in 31 days, made five changes with Adam Henley, Corry Evans, Chris Brown, Matt Grimes and Simeon Jackson all starting.

Tony Watt, Ben Marshall, Jordi Gomez and Darragh Lenihan moved to the bench, while Danny Graham - scorer of four goals in his last two games against Town - was sidelined with a back injury suffered at the weekend.

Murphy struck the game’s first effort in second minute, Blackburn keeper Jason Steele palming away his 20-yard shot down to his right.

Blackburn forced Bartosz Bialkowski into his first save of the evening in the ninth minute when Grimes crossed from the right and Jackson, who trained with the Blues’ academy as a schoolboy, deftly flicked towards goal 10 yards out at the near post. The Pole scrambled the ball behind to his right.

A minute later, the Blues keeper made an even better save when Elliott Bennett’s freekick from the left evaded everyone in a crowded box and looked certain to curl into the corner of the net until he got a hand to it and turned it over.

On 12 Sears sidefooted Jonas Knudsen’s left-sided cross well over on the volley, then three minutes later the Danish international sent in another ball which Douglas headed wide with Murphy unable to reach it to add a further touch.

In the 18th minute Hope Akpan ended a slick Blackburn move on the left by shooting over from the edge of the box.

Murphy teed up Pitman for a shot from the right just outside the area in the 26th minute which Blackburn keeper Steele punched away.

Just before the half hour Evans picked up the game’s first booking for a foul on Knudsen, who had been Town’s main threat down the left.

Moments later, Grimes smashed a shot from distance which Bialkowski pushed away from goal to his right.

In the 34th minute a loose ball fell to Murphy in the area but his shot struck Sears and Rovers eventually cleared their lines.

Neither keeper was tested again before the end of a fairly typical, scruffy not overly entertaining Championship 45 minutes.

The Blues had had more of the ball and had had more shots but were largely unconvincing, while Blackburn’s two chances which forced Bialkowski into saves in the early stages were the nearest either side had come to a goal.

Blackburn swapped Evans for Lenihan at the break but it was Town who started the second half on the front foot.

On 50 Murphy wasn’t too far away with a well-struck low shot which flew just wide of Steele’s right post.

But Blackburn began to have more of the ball and six minutes later Akpan headed down to Jackson, who shot over.

As the game moved into its final half hour Brown received a ball into feet on the edge of the six-yard box at the near post from Henley but hit his shot into the side-netting.

In the 63rd minute Hyam was yellow-carded for stopping the visitors from taking a freekick quickly, then ex-Rovers striker Luke Varney replaced Pitman in the Blues attack.

Sears hit the wall with a freekick from just outside the area in the 66th minute, the ball looping to Skuse, whose volley was deflected behind, off a Rovers hand according to the Town players.

Referee Iain Williamson waved away the protests but following the corner the Blues were awarded a penalty. As the ball came over from the right Akpan appeared to shove Chambers to the floor and the official had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Birthday boy Murphy took the kick and smashed it to Steele’s left giving him no chance. It was the Irishman’s ninth of the season having gone seven games without a goal.

Blackburn swapped Grimes and Jackson for Jordi Gomez and Tony Watt before Foley took over from Skuse in Town’s midfield.

On 77 Douglas was booked for a foul on Akpan, and from Bennett’s freekick midway inside the Town half on the left Berra just got in front of Shane Duffy to head behind.

Watt shot wide for Blackburn after a corner as the still very scrappy match moved into its final 10 minutes with the visitors trying to find an equaliser, although so far unconvincingly.

And on 87 Murphy sealed the three points for the Blues and put the icing on his birthday cake with his second of the game.

Varney won the ball just inside the Town half and brought it forward before playing a ball to the Irish international, who took it inside a defender before hitting a 20-yard strike past Steele and into the net to take his season’s tally to 10.

In the closing moments Paul Digby replaced Varney and shortly afterwards referee Williamson brought the game to an end.

It wasn’t a game which will linger long in the memory but Town did what they needed to do and ground out a hard-fought win against a determined Blackburn side, who had had the better chances before the break.

The Blues were starting to threaten more prior to the penalty which Murphy tucked away with great confidence.

The second goal, created by Varney and finished superbly by Murphy, cemented a vital three points which moves the Blues up to eighth, one point off the play-offs - albeit with an inferior goal difference - with resurgent Rotherham at Portman Road on Saturday.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse (Foley 76), Hyam, Douglas, Sears, Pitman (Varney 64 (Digby 90), Murphy. Subs: Gerken, Digby, Bru, Pringle, Touré.

Blackburn: Steele, Henley, Duffy, Hanley (c), Spurr, Evans (Lenihan 46), Akpan, Grimes (J Gomez 75), Bennett, Jackson (Watt 75), Brown. Subs: Raya, Marshall, Ward, Conway. Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire). Att: 16,488 (Blackburn: 214).

Photo: Action Images

righty added 22:50 - Mar 15 If anyone thinks this was a good win they are more moronic than McCarthy absolute garbage and to think Evans wants £500 for next season he must be joking get rid of McCarthy a proper manager in and I might think about it McCarthy OUT
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bonamassablue added 22:58 - Mar 15 In the main a tactically negative display but well done to Sears and Murphy, the only bright spots. Having said that, a very welcome 3 points and I would take a few more of those dreary 3 pointers between now and the end of the season!
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prebsa added 23:04 - Mar 15 Apologies as much as I would love 4 points Saturday but I'm pretty sure we will only be allowed 3
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thebeat added 23:06 - Mar 15 Jonathan Douglas...........stealing a living............
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runaround added 23:16 - Mar 15 For 60 minutes we were awful in an awful game. A back 4 & midfield 3 incapable of going forward with the ball, only able to pass backwards or hoof aimlessly, no-one in midfield wanting or demanding the ball, Pitman anonymous with Murphy & Sears feeding on scraps. Luckily Bart was yet again unbeatable in goal. Then birthday boy Daryl woke up & woke ITFC up. Last half hour buoyed by the penalty we were a totally different much better side. The victory was much needed & puts back in contention however improvements are needed to stay there. Tonight was a step in the right direction

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Jimmy86 added 23:25 - Mar 15 I could not fathom why Mick started with Hyam, Skuse and Douglas in midfield. There is zero creativity with those players and at home smacks of real negativity. The first half was poor and Blackburn went long, just the same as we did. Mick had our more creative players on the bench and it certainly looked like it. 2nd half was slightly better and a win is a win and points in the bag. 2 nil flatters us slightly, in my opinion, but Murph took his goals well. Good news about Feeny signing, decent winger at this level. On to Saturday, which will be a tough game against Colin

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Edmundo added 23:36 - Mar 15 @ITFCRealist I think you need to listen to the radio, as the person who had the disagreement with our Captain actually put the record straight. Media would always try to make something of this, but in light of the facts, maybe as a supporter you should watch what you put on here.
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StowTractorBoy added 23:39 - Mar 15 I feared the worst when I saw the midfield selection that had no creativity in it whatsoever. It was not pretty to watch but some would say play poorly and grind out a result is encouraging. I am however not daft enough to think this sort of performance will take us into the top six. I can only assume that Pringle and Bru will be back in the frame for Saturday as that midfield tonight gave little or no service to our front men. Hopefully the two Murphy goals will set him up for a good end of season and more of the same as his second goal, which was excellent with much credit going to Varney for the set up. Others to come out with credit tonight were Bart, Berra, Smith and Sears who ran tirelessly throughout. Another result like this on Saturday with Liam Feeney on board will set us up nicely for the remaining games. As MM will say it will not be easy with Colin in Town.

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TractorBoy666 added 23:44 - Mar 15 As expected, zero creativity in the game with the penalty changing the game. I've been to every home game and a couple of away games this season so some of us do have the right to moan when you see some of our performances. Blackburn are by far the worst team I've seen down PR this season, so a win was vital. I just hope we can continue to have something to play for come the last game of the season but we cannot perform like that against the stronger teams, as quality will prevail. Happy for Murph with two goals tonight, also thought Sears worked his socks as usual and had to come deep at times to get something going. Bart has been unreal for us lately and it's lucky we have such a good keeper, another 3 points on Saturday please!

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beornioblue added 00:25 - Mar 16 From one who actually was there, awful first half , header tennis in the middle actually qualified a cheer, back to hoodball , pitman looked lost in a front 3 , hyam with all the bite and enthusiasm of a terrier but no quality what so ever, Douglas an absolute waste of a blue shirt, foley on and immediately ball to feet take 2/3 touches, great pen from Murphy, strong run from varney and a quality finish from murph, Bart 3 good saves, but seriously mick if you thought that midfield display didn't need changing at half time didn't need adjusting the you've no business managing a football team!! 3 points gained (eventually deserved) from our game in hand , feeney on loan let's build and really get behind the team because we could very easily bumble over the line and who knows didz might be ready for wolves, murph and Sears upfront with didz just behind .... Surely not. Football at Portman rd .. Unheard of ... "We still believe !!!!! "1 horse on a shirt, 15 years of drifting..searsy up the mid will defences twitching"

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Minneapolis_ITFC added 02:20 - Mar 16 I was nine tenths through a response and then lost all my work, I'll try and compact it into something easier and more to the point. Bottom line, an important win and good to see Murphy back among the goals after the somewhat disappointing form after last seasons heroics. One or two points away from the top six and while recent games have at times been frustrating, some of the scores have been encouraging. Read through some post-game response and while I respect everyone's views, it seems today was another example of the team reverting to hoof ball style at times and something of a lackluster feel to proceedings. Doubtless not the best of games but what the hell, we got a victory and three points that will prove crucial to the promotion cause. Add to that a favorable game with Rotherham coming up that should see the team add further points to the total.

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Gandj64 added 03:12 - Mar 16 So.....here's the way I see it.......prior to tonight we had 10 games remaining and to be sure of the play offs we needed 7 wins and we now need six. We have five at home and at our best, whatever that looks like, we can win them. Rotherham and Warnock on Saturday. He once famously said after a battering ( in charge of the blades I think? someone correct me?) "that's the last time I try and play football against that lot! " well there's not much danger of that happening....so I will take a 1-0 scrappy affair...o.g in injury time! That means we need to win one of our remaining four away? Wolves, Derby, Middlesboro or Wednesday? take your pick .....or we collect three draws ...which would mean one defeat in the last ten going into the play offs...not beyond us ? or is it? Dids and Fraser back possibly ? warm bank holiday Monday ? Town back in the Prem ? ME gives MM 150 million to invest in the squad and England beat France 3-0 in the euro finals in Paris ? ? ? Which is all possible? or is it? you decide.....!

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Bob7881 added 06:26 - Mar 16 Gandj64 i think you been smoking too much Ganja.
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warktheline added 06:57 - Mar 16 Nice to put one over Paul lambert. Well done Mick and boys!
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Steelmonkey added 07:29 - Mar 16 Did what was needed, majority of play was trying to contain a Blackburn side and until we were awarded the penalty we didn't look like breaking the deadlock. Great piece of work by Varney to create Murphy's goal opportunity hope his going off is not a recurrence of his old injury. Now repeat it against Rotherham on Saturday. COYB's
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prebsa added 07:35 - Mar 16 Shenfieldblue, would you like to tell me what you disagree with? Would like to know.
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dirtydingusmagee added 07:46 - Mar 16 Well thats 3 of the hoped for six points from two games, thankfully. I am a bit surprised to be honest but hey ho. Pleased to see Murphy get a couple,perhaps it will fire him up .However despite the win it was a dour game and our performance did nothing to suggest we are genuine challengers for play offs, or anything beyond .Bart once again had an excellent game,and was top man in my book.Hopefully another win Saturday,but would like to see a bit more from the team .COYB

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AJD1111 added 08:36 - Mar 16 Very much still in it with the games left and the position we are in. A few big ones we simply have to turn up to (Sheff Wed away). Looking positive. However, people are completely justified to be disgruntled with our performances lately and the lack of quality. A lot of people on here seem to think the win last night wipes out how negative our style of play is. Support the boys up or down, but when we're losing games and playing an unattractive style of football people can voice their opinion of what they'd change.

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battyblue added 09:02 - Mar 16 Three points that's all that can be said really if by some miracle we reached the prem how many of our squad could compete at that level i would say two,three at the very most so would money bags lay out the necessary funds for quality players ...i think not.
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rachelsdad added 09:03 - Mar 16 Sears and Skuse worked their socks off but no one available to pass to most times, Pitman always seems to have a poor game when he starts,Douglas and Hyam just do not understand what a forward pass is and proved again that you cannot play them together why not start with Foley who at least tries to pass the ball,defence played ok but like most games our captains use of the ball was poor ?? very poor game but another solid performance from Bart,great strike from Murphy (similar to last season) for the second goal and 3 PTS. Lets move on to saturday and a better performance and another 3pts

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essex57 added 09:12 - Mar 16 A very dour and uninspiring game when even the cup of halftime coffee was more looked forward to than the second half. Still a goal soon raises the spirits and a very welcome 3pts saw our season re ignited . I thought Knudsen had a good game as did Sears Bart great again Murphy did a lot of work off the ball and I was pleased for him to bag 2 goals. Let's hope we can bag another 3 on Sat. Can I just appeal to those fans booing our team off it really doesn't achieve anything. I agree with all those saying about what would happen if we get to the Premiership let's just enjoy getting there and worry about the rest in August.

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Fatcatevans added 09:28 - Mar 16 The win was welcome but the first hour was beyond dire. The midfield 3 has to be the least creative trio ever fielded by the Town. Foley who likes to bring the ball down and pick a pass did more in 15 minutes than Douglas and Hyam contributed in the entire game. I guess nothing will change but let's hope both Foley and Pringle get some proper game time on Saturday.

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brittaniaman added 09:39 - Mar 16 With reference to Varney going off, I think it was a bang on his head he received and the Ref seemed concerned about it (nice of him) anyway in the first 10mins.Bart made two fine saves ! which were crucial that time !! The midfield well what can we say again it was a choice of MMs favourites AGAIN I am afraid to say, Three players who play the same game no creation amongst them,, anyway it all turned out fine in the end with a most welcome 3pts.

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GiveusaWave added 10:11 - Mar 16 Not pretty to watch, but the important thing was we grinded out a crucial win. We still have hope of 6th spot and given the way we play that's a remarkable achievement.
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Razor added 10:38 - Mar 16 OK---not pretty and we chiselled that result out and so crucial. Thanks to Bart for being awake in first 10 minutes unlike rst of his defence. Feeney coming and Didds on pitch on Monday---lets pray and hope that goes well. A lot happier this morning, the dream is still alive!!
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