Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was “proud” of his team’s performance in the thrilling 1-1 home draw with Middlesbrough which put them one point clear at the top of the Championship.
Town went into the game looking to take advantage after seeing automatic promotion rivals Leicester and Leeds lose to Plymouth and Blackburn respectively.
Boro took the lead after 20 minutes through a header from Emmanuel Latte Lath but Town struck back 10 minutes later when Massimo Luongo crashed home a corner by Leif Davis.
Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky produced two wonderful saves, firstly from Isaiah Jones and then Matt Clarke, to keep the scores level.
McKenna said: “Frustration isn’t my feeling at the moment. Maybe it will be tomorrow but at the moment it’s pride around the performance.
“I thought it was a brilliant game, I thought the performance was excellent against a good side and I was really proud of how we went about our business really.
“I thought we played brilliant, we played confident, tactically it was a really good battle, we created plenty of chances to win the game and I thought it was a really good performance.
“Over the course of the last two games could we have had an couple of extra points, for sure we could we have lost today, Vaz (Hladky) produces a great save at the end.
“The players have given everything and what’s more pleasing for me is the performance and at the end of the season we will get as many points that we get, I don’t think they are going to leave an ounce of effort out there.
“I really liked the way we went about our business and at the end of the day we pick up a point from a really good performance and we have a little bit of recovery now and look forward to last week and three great games.”
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick was happy with a share of the spoils in the end.
He said: “It’s a tough place to come and you can see they’re a really good team, confidence is high and they’re in a really good place.
“Their record here is really good so it was always going to be challenging to come here, which makes it probably a decent point in isolation.
“But, for us, we came here to win and we wanted to win, so it’s a bit of mixed feelings really overall.
“We know what we needed [as far as play-off hopes were concerned]. It doesn’t change what we do for the next game, though.
“We want to finish the season strongly and continue to do the right things. We’re on a decent run at the moment and we want to try and keep building on that. The aim is to just try and keep winning football matches really.
“There are a lot of good things again. There are things we need to improve upon and be better at but there are some good things that we can take from it.
“We’ve been doing that for a number of games now which is pleasing. But we still want to be coming to places like this and winning. We tried to but we just didn’t quite pull it off.”
Simeone insists Atletico 'cannot stop pushing' after narrow Mallorca win
Diego Simeone insists Atletico Madrid "cannot stop pushing" in their pursuit of Champions League qualification after a narrow 1-0 victory over Mallorca.
Los Rojiblancos tightened their grip on fourth place in LaLiga, with Rodrigo Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute enough to secure back-to-back wins.
With four games remaining, Simeone's side moved onto 67 points, six clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who they beat 3-1 last weekend.
The Atleti boss was thrilled by his players' performance levels, but has urged them not to rest on their laurels.
"The team interpreted the plan very well," he said. "The commitment was incredible from [Angel] Correa to [Jan] Oblak to play an intelligent game from a defensive point of view.
"After the goal, we controlled the game. We defended as a team and did a great job. We need to continue improving, and we can't stop pushing until the season is over."
Echoing his manager's thoughts, defender Axel Witsel told Movistar Plus+: "It was very important to win. We wanted to win and stay six points ahead. We have to keep it up.
"After Riquelme scored a fantastic goal, we managed to stay well-organised to secure the result."
'It hurts to lose' - Inzaghi apologises after Sassuolo defeat
Simone Inzaghi admits "it hurts to lose" following Inter's surprise 1-0 defeat by relegation-threatened Sassuolo.
The newly crowned Scudetto winners suffered only their second loss of the season in Serie A, as Armand Lauriente's first-half goal was enough to give the 19th-place hosts victory at Mapei Stadium.
Sassuolo, who boosted their survival hopes, subsequently completed the league double over the Nerazzurri, having also prevailed 2-1 at San Siro in September.
Meanwhile, Inter were beaten by a team in the bottom two for the first time since November 2014, with Inzaghi urging his players not to be distracted by their title triumph.
"We started sluggish and didn’t have the right approach to the game," he told Sky Sports Italia. "I'm sorry for the defeat, but credit must be given to Sassuolo for a performance of great effort and sacrifice.
"It's right to enjoy [our Scudetto victory], but there are still three games to go and we have to focus. It hurts to lose, and it should hurt."
After guiding Inter to their 20th Serie A crown, Inzaghi is hopeful he can keep the majority of his squad intact ahead of next season.
However, the Nerazzurri boss did emphasise the club's need to strengthen before launching their Scudetto defence.
"I already told the club that I want to go into next season with all the players I had this term, not losing a single one," he said. "Considering all the games we need to play and the length of the season, we do need a bigger squad."
Inter Miami 6-2 New York Red Bulls: Messi makes more MLS history as Suarez scores hat-trick
Lionel Messi had a hand in all six goals while Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as Inter Miami overcame the New York Red Bulls 6-2 at Chase Stadium.
The Eastern Conference leaders were on a three-match winning streak in MLS, but fell behind to Dante Vanzeir's opener in the 30th minute.
However, the hosts turned the match on its head after the break, with Messi assisting a brace for half-time substitute Matias Rojas either side of getting on the scoresheet himself.
Suarez then took centre stage with a hat-trick inside 13 minutes - all assisted by his former Barcelona team-mate - while Emil Forsberg's stoppage-time penalty was a mere consolation for the visitors, who are now without a win in four.
Data debrief
Messi broke two more MLS records following yet another inspirational display for the Herons.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's six goal contributions and five assists were both the most recorded by a player in a single game.
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