Boss Roy Keane was delighted with his side’s performance as the Blues jumped to second in the table via a 2-0 victory over Cardiff at Portman Road. Cardiff manager Dave Jones felt Adam Matthews’s own goal was the turning point in the match.

Keane said: “I thought it was a good performance, I thought it was a good game. It was a good victory. I think we deserved it, once we got past the first 10 minutes when we were under a lot of pressure.

“I enjoyed it and the players reacted well, which I knew they would. I was pleased with the workrate, the strikers did well, the subs who came on did well, against a very good Cardiff team.

“Sometimes you can play teams at the right time and obviously Cardiff are missing some important players, but they’re still a handful and we saw that in the first 10 minutes when we looked like we were never going to get out of our box, let alone our half but we stuck at it.

“I think we did a lot of the basics wrong the other night,” he added, “but I thought we did the basics well today, in terms of defending, closing people down and hold-up play from the strikers.

“Cardiff will win loads of games in this league and we knew we’d have to be at our best today. We weren’t the other night and we got found out.”

The Blues manager was delighted with Connor Wickham’s display with the 17-year-old making his first start of the season: “Connor did well, it’s always a gamble when a player’s been out a long time and not kicked a ball in the reserves. His cameo performances last Tuesday and in the Portsmouth game have just about earned him his start.

“I think he and Jason gave us that foundation today with their workrate, their hold-up play and they often threatened.

“The keeper made a very good save from Connor in the second half. We could say he was unlucky, but I give credit to the keeper, he’s come out and made that save.”

Keane thought Wickham was unlucky not to win a spotkick when he was felled in the first period: “We were unfortunate not to get the penalty in the first half and his general play was very good but he’ll be tired for the next few days because it was a big shift for him. He was on for about 81 minutes and ideally I didn’t want to play him for that long.”

Cardiff manager Dave Jones thought the game was heading towards a goalless draw: “We started brightly. The second half wasn’t the best of games and it probably had a 0-0 look about it.

“I didn’t think they were causing us any problems and we certainly weren’t causing them problems, but you can’t give away the goal that we gave away."

Jones says own goal-scorer Adam Matthews wasn’t the only one to blame for his side’s second defeat in a week but was in no doubt that the own goal was the game’s pivotal moment: “It wasn’t just down to young Adam, other players around him didn’t step up to the plate in the second half.

“But the own goal was the turning point because it lifted everyone around the place, the crowd got behind them and they got a spring in their step.

“There’s no hiding place for anybody in this world, certainly not at this level. It’s a good job he’s a young player so he’s got a long, long time to get over it.

“It’s one of those in your career that you’ll mull over many, many times, but the one thing you can’t do is let it affect you. You can think about it and try not to make the mistake again, but we’ve not got time to mollycoddle anybody, he’s got to learn quick.”

Photo: Action Images

howsey51 added 00:48 - Sep 19 what was the average age out there today? must have been v. young with eastman, smith, o'dea, townsend, wickham. mature performance.
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mental1 added 00:55 - Sep 19 Very happy having awoken from sleeping off a night shift to see we won. I don't care what anyone says, we have had a lot of tough games back to back for a start to the season and we have done very well. QPR was a shame but they are on a great run at the mo. What pisses me off on here is how negative everyone is all the time- even when we win for christs sake! No team wins every game even the likes of Barca and Inter......... whats important is to stay focussed, positive and behind the team and i don't feel alot of posters on this site do that. COYB! very much looking forward to derby day and doing over the budgies!

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big_gaz67 added 06:37 - Sep 19 My thoughts on a few topics on this thread Furlop - Distribution can be random but at least when he clears from a long ball or back pass his kicking is confident and consistent - something we have not seen in a town keeper for a long time (loanee from Pompey last year excepted). He is doing he 'day job' of stopping goals and that will do for me. Norris - I thought, especially in the second half today, he was outstanding. He won ball after ball and broke up Cardiff possession on a regular basis. When he is not on form, or when he his played around (like QPR did) his absence is well noted. Can't believe ChambersM didn't see this Priskin - There has been no one on this board a bigger slater of Priskin than me. But I thought today as sub he looked hungry and far more mobile than other games, even this season - hopefully a taste of how he will be coming on as a sub in future games for Wickham or Scotland which is likely to be his role Wickham - Love watching this player that always gives 100% - which is all I ask for when I buy my season ticket. Thought the ref was very harsh on him today. Sometimes he gets a shove of a defender before a long ball is played to him, pushes back as the ball is in the air and the ref (who has to follow the ball) with give the second 'foul' as that is all he sees. Needs to sometimes drop five yards away from the defender before the ball is played and then be moving to the ball whilst it is played, therefore will either beat the player or get the free kick on a higher percentage of the 50%/50% fouls. But overall all action and I hope he is a town player for years to come. Never been a massive Keane fan but have to enjoy being second and this result was massive because if we lost after QPR the confidence would slip after the tremendous start to the season. No so concerned about Millwall and the four bit cup but at least four points from Scunny and Reading away would lead nicely to Richard Naylor's return to Portman Road..........

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canveyblue added 08:25 - Sep 19 Good result today. Boys were solid at the back and a lot sharper going forward. Conner looked impressive and i thought Townsend and Edwards were equally as good either side.
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Keaneish added 09:03 - Sep 19 Chambers! Garvan over Norris!? Jesus. Never.
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bluearmy4life added 10:21 - Sep 19 Great result today back to winning ways how good does that sound to say that! I can't believe there is still some small few people on here moaning we are 2nd in the league and at the moment we are one of the promotion favourites. If there are people that don't want to get behind keane and the blue army fcuk off up the A140. COYB
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zippyrainbow added 15:50 - Sep 19 Okay, I am happy that we are 2nd. BUT - let us analyse who we have played. Middlesbrough. Who made them promotion favourites?? Bunch of players from the Scottish leagues and they won't do nothing this year. Portsmouth are bankrupt and don't have a team. They are going down to League 1. Burnley are suffereing from relegation and have a crap manager and no worthwhile players. QPR. Fair result. Cardiff are nothing except when they have Bellamy or Chopra playing. They had neither yesterday. I think this league is the worst I have ever seen it. Other than Leeds, there are no real "big clubs" here and anybody could get promoted this year. And whoever gets prmoted in the end will be cannon fodder next year for the likes of Wolves, Bolton and Stoke. Jon Walters sucks.

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BlueJewells added 16:47 - Sep 19 So glad when heard about result, I was at d of e, was really annoyed before when i heard i couldnt go, COYB
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Back_The_Boss added 18:12 - Sep 19 Great result against Cardiff and the perfect way to put Q.P.R behind us. COYB!
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choprawontcome added 20:30 - Sep 19 i see the rose tinted spectacle brigade are back out in force..........
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:20 - Sep 19 well done lads,a good reaction to the disapointment of Tuesday.Good to see us sitting up top,[OK 2ND before some plank nit picks] Hope we can maintain the run and see a gap open up before any problems arise [ie injuries suspensions,.]Zippy ,who do you regard as the good sides then, if we havnt played any yet ?
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Hermann_eats_puffin added 22:37 - Sep 19 I thought that after being pegged back in the first 10-15 mins we worked really hard as a team to bring ourselves back into the game. Even without Bellamy and Chopra Cardiff carry a big goal threat in the likes of Whittingham and Bothroyd etc and I thought that our entire defence coped well but McAuley deserves great credit for a superb performance and he certainly isn't afraid to throw his head and body on the line, which he did on several occasions to make clearances. The team showed real graft and Edwards in particular got through an awful lot of running in both attack and covering defensive duties in tracking back. Equally I thought that Townsend showed some good touches and has the ability to beat a player and pick out the strikers. All of our front line put in a good performance with Scotland finding the net, Wickham looking a constant goal threat whenever he had the ball heading for goal and Priskin showed skill as he held the ball up very well after coming on which was exactly what we need when going to run the clock down. How anyone can criticise Wickham for his performance is utterly beyond me and makes me consider the following with reference to the comments of ‘zippyrainbow': * Was zippyrainbow actually at the game? * Is zippyrainbow really a Town fan because every single post is a negative one even when there is no such basis for the negativity and it seems to be posted simply as an attempt to wind people up? * Lastly the negativity of zippyrainbow got me thinking of a similarly negative poster who went by the name of ‘IpswichElvis' and seeing as they don't seem to have posted for a while maybe you could be the reincarnation of ‘IpswichElvis'. * Given your unjustified criticism of Wickham maybe you also post under another pseudonym of ‘PoliticalCanary' on 606 as that person feels the need to launch a ridiculous attack on Wickham after every single game which in the same way as the posts of ‘zippyrainbow' are very tiresome!

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_Mhs_ added 23:04 - Sep 19 great result, i hate to put a downer on it but i thought eastman looked really uncomfortable at right back. I know we have players out, but i think peters would have done a better job. Eastman gave the ball away so many times, and nearly gifted them goalscoring opportunitys on a few occasions.On another note, I had doubts about macauley last season, but he is looking really solid at the back with smith. If we can keep him off the injury table we could go far. The game could have gone either way, but as jones said, as soon as the goal went in the fans got behind the team and pushed the boys onto victory. If we're gonna be up there at the end of the season, we need results like this, just that bit of luck. Good solid result, looking forward to the next game!

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exeterblu added 00:29 - Sep 20 Great result today. Certainly lucky to have Chop's and Bell-endy off injured, but thats the kind of luck you need to make the most of, which the lads duly did ! COYB:)
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Bergholtblue added 08:41 - Sep 20 I just want to add my comments in praise of Priskin as there were a few sat around me who kept moaning about him. Yes he does not want to chase lost causes in the same way as Wickham does and that may give him the appearance of not being interested, but he did wonderfully well in holding the ball up after coming on. When you are 2 0 up and there are ten minutes left you need to see the game out. I know there is the desire to see your team go on and get another goal, but games have been lost in the last ten minutes. Look at last season! When Priskin got the ball at his feet, it stuck like glue and rather than take a snap shot or knock it into space for a runner to try to get, he held it and held it until he got ample support and we could keep possession. The opposition cannot score when we have the ball and it helps run down the clock. A thoroughly professional approach from Priskin and one that helped take the sting out of Cardiff's push at the end.

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tractaboy added 20:56 - Sep 20 Agree Begholt blue, i thought Priskin looked sharp for the few minutes he was on, held the ball up well showed some excellent ball control. So happy with the result, first match i've been able to get to for a couple of years, living down in Hampshire. Not a pretty first half, but Town were the better team. Took control in the second half and they looked sooo much better playing the ball around on the floor. Edwards man of the match for me by a mile. All of the defenders looked comfortable, Eastman took a while to settle but solid overall. Conner impressed me, how he didn't get a penalty in the first half i'll never know. Good support from the crowd too, vocal all the way through, even the first ten minutes when we were under pressure. Good stuff all round.

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Hermann_eats_puffin added 21:32 - Sep 20 Well said Bergholtblue as Priskin is well deserving of praise for his performance on Saturday as he showed great skill to hold the ball at his feet when under pressure from several Cardiff defenders. It was exactly what we needed at that stage of the game and helped with running down some of the clock after the four minutes of added time had been added on after O'Dea had been on the ground injured. At the same time I also thought that Edwards ran his socks off for the entire game and looked threatening with the ball at his feet when taking people on but at the same time he did some admirable defensive worked and helped young Eastman.

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