Morecambe manager Jim Harvey felt that the 18th minute sending off of defender Jim Bentley ended his side's chances of defeating Town in the FA Cup tie at Portman Road. Bentley was dismissed for pulling back Pablo Couñago as the forward ran in on goal.

A disappointed Harvey said: “That was game over when we had James sent off. It was very harsh. It killed the game as a contest.

"I thought the ball was going towards the corner flag and I would like to see it again.

"We were disappointed but let it get away from us through no fault of our own. It would have been interesting if we'd had 11 on the field today but with 10 it was inevitable.

"We all feel for James [Bentley]. It was a big occasion for him to come here and I don't think he's experienced much like this before.

"But he's a huge character and he lives for his football so for him to feel he's let everyone down is a devastating blow.

"I even sent one of my players who wasn't involved into the dressing room to see if he was coping, and he's taken it very badly."

Despite the result Harvey was pleased with his lads' display: "We came back into it strongly after they scored and we weren't overawed. For over an hour they were getting frustrated and our football was excellent.

"It was an even contest and until they got the second one we were well in the game. There were some tremendous performances.

"But it was all taken away from us very quickly by the referee and we're left very deflated by that - the result doesn't reflect the majority of the game."

Joe Royle, perhaps with one eye on the Shrewsbury-Everton result, was just happy not be on the end of a defeat: "I'm relieved not to be on the end of a giantkilling. In the end we won comfortably but no one wants to be a statistic they keep showing for years afterwards, so I'm happy to be in the hat.

"It was an awkward game. The sending-off made it more awkward. I don't know why but trepidation sets in.

"You never know because there were a few tears around the country. We can't come out of that with glowing praise but we did a professional job. Realistically by the end we could have won by a lot more goals."

The draw for the next round will be made at 1pm on Monday.

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