Boss Joe Royle hailed Lewis Price after the young keeper made an outstanding save from Alan Lee in the closing stages of Town's 1-0 win over Cardiff. The Town manager was also impressed with the contributions of Jason De Vos and Owen Garvan, one of five Town debutants.

Royle said: "Until Lewis brought off that save I didn't think we were under very much danger. All great saves need an element of luck but this was certainly a magnificent reflex effort."

The Blues boss also had praise for Jason De Vos who once again played despite being less than fully fit: "He had a lump in his thigh and should never have played. We put him on a static bike at half-time to keep him moving. He stopped just long enough to have a painkilling injection in his ribs which he might have cracked.

"He never put a foot wrong in 90 minutes. He was a true hero and I am delighted he played and delighted by his performance."

Irish youngster Owen Garvan also impressed Royle: "He just doesn't give the ball way and combined so well with Jim Magilton that they were like the ringmaster and the sorcerer's apprentice.

"Owen has a great temperament but we will be watching very closely to see when he needs a rest.

"It was an untypical Ipswich performance, not free-flowing but quite functional. Forster was always lively, even in a bland first half. We took him off as a precaution in view of Tuesday's visit to QPR."

Scorer Forster was pleased with strike partner Sam Parkin: "Sam did everything but score.

"He hit the post, had a few shots saved and worked hard, and it's only a matter of time before he starts scoring goals for this club.

"Our partnership is still in its early days but the understanding is beginning to come, and obviously I was delighted to score. But the most important thing was that we got off to a winning start."

Forster says the thigh injury which kept him out of some of the pre-season matches will not stop him playing in midweek: "It's still sore and I didn't feel at 100 per cent but there will be no problem with my availability for Tuesday's game at QPR."

Cardiff manager Dave Jones wasn't too displeased with his side: "I think I can take more positives than negatives from the match. One mistake proved costly. It was a silly freekick to give away.

"Their keeper made a great save late on that probably justified the result. How he got to the ball I don't know. It was only six yards out and should have been a goal.

"We got into good positions in the first half and should have got something out of them, but we didn't.

"I have brought in nine new players and seven of them were on duty today. I have told them they need to gel quickly but I cannot fault them. Darren Purse and Kevin Cooper have only been with us about a week.

"We only have a small squad so it is important to keep the players fit. I am not in the position to spend £450,000 on a striker, but I will keep looking around. A lot of clubs are in the same position and searching in the same pot. It's not easy for any of us."

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