Blackpool (a) may just be a little less daunting after Town rediscover that winning away habit

Sun 29 Nov 09

Roy Keane tonight praised the impact of his substitutions as Ipswich celebrated a deserved – if unlikely – 2-1 victory at Cardiff City.

Town made it seven games unbeaten with an impressive win, the first on their travels, after going in at the break a goal down.

Keeper Richard Wright had already gone off injured when Peter Whittingham gave the hosts the lead with an excellent opener.

Given what they have already experienced this season, Town fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst with Arran Lee-Barrett making his debut in goal and Tamas Priskin ineffectual upfront.

But a masterstroke from Keane – bringing on Jon Stead for Priskin and bringing in Alan Quinn to add solidity to his midfield – turned the game around.

Jon Walters scored a fantastic equaliser to match anything Whittingham had done and then Stead popped up to score a slightly fortuitous winner.

Town's seven-match unbeaten run now looks more impressive with two wins to go with all those draws.

They remain in the bottom three, a point off safety, but it was a victory that looked unlikely from the outset, despite Cardiff's recent poor run.

The jubilant Keane, who some predicted had just two away games to save his job, praised the effort of his players and called on them to build on this success.

Speaking to the club website after the game, Keane said: "Jon Walters has been a good leader over this difficult period and he scored a superb equaliser while Jon Stead is starting to make a habit of scoring vital goals for us.

“We may have had a bit of luck with the winner but Steady came on and made an impact. Our subs did well for us, Quinner (Alan Quinn) was full of energy and Arran (Lee-Barrett) was solid.

“Our form has not been too bad but you hope the result can see us kick on now because it's wins we need.”

Keane surprised some by keeping faith with Priskin alongside new loan signing Stern John who came close to giving Town a first half lead with a header from Grant Leadbitter's free kick.

Whittingham had already cracked the woodwork as he showed why he rivalled striker Michael Chopra in the scoring charts.

It was Chopra, who went into the match as the Championship's leading scorer, who was involved in the collision which abruptly ended Wright's game in the Ipswich goal.   Part 2 >>