Town manager Joe Royle was disappointed with his side's finishing in their 1-1 with Hull. Strikers Dean McDonald and Alan Lee were amongst those guilty of missing good chances.

Royle said: “It is symptomatic of our season. We played well but hit the bar and had shots cleared off the line. Another shot whistled past the post. We were so nearly there. It was a terrible shame.

"We are playing well enough to be capable of putting a winning run together. The clubs above us are wobbling. People say we cannot reach the play-offs, but we will keep playing our passing game and see what happens.

"Our fans will have gone away delighted with our football but disappointed with the result. We will be a little stronger next week with the return of Richard Naylor and Jimmy Juan.

"The only danger to us was from corners and freekicks because Hull are one of the biggest sides I have seen. Their two front men were like bouncers."

Tigers boss Peter Taylor was pleased with his team's performance: "In this division you have to work hard every match and we want to be here again next season playing in front of big crowds.

"Our attitude was first class and we scored a very good goal. Leon Cort is tremendous in the air in both boxes. He must like East Anglia because he also scored at Norwich.

"In the second half, we created a couple of very good chances and I don't think Ipswich made many more openings than us.

"I think 47 points is what we need to keep us in this division and now we have 45. I would have settled from a point at Ipswich before the start, so I am very pleased with it.

"Joe Royle has worked wonders at Ipswich. They have had a lot of injuries and no longer have the great players they used to have. Even so, they are a very good footballing team and enjoyable to watch."

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