Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy has admitted that he was left "bitterly disappointed" after his side's 2-2 draw with Lincoln City in the third round of the FA Cup.
The National League side twice led the encounter at Portman Road, but Tom Lawrence levelled the scores on both occasions to keep the Tractor Boys in the competition.
The result came after an alarming league run that has seen them win just five of their last 18 Championship games to pile pressure on McCarthy.
"I'm bitterly disappointed. I'm also disappointed we didn't capitalise on our good start to the second half and ended up conceding," McCarthy told the Ipswich Star. There were quite a few disappointments in the game, but the really positive point is that we didn't lose because we've got Blackburn coming here on Saturday. We're still in the cup and the lads kept going to get a result.
"Tom's got us all out of jail with two good finishes. I thought Lincoln were excellent and they'll be feeling very unlucky not to have won the game. I'll be complaining bitterly about the goals we conceded and I guess they will be as well.
"They were good. I think they played very well. I knew they would come here confident, I knew they were a good side having had them watched and so there were no surprises. It was a classic cup tie between a non-league side and a league side - and they were unfortunate not to win it.
"It's not easy playing against a side like them. Like I said, they're a good side that's full of confidence. We're not particularly full of confidence, especially playing here. So maybe it's not as big a surprise as some people think it is."
Ipswich next welcome Blackburn Rovers to Suffolk when Championship action resumes next Saturday.
Neil Wilkes
