Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy has defended his goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski for conceding a soft goal in Sunday’s East Anglian derby with Norwich City.
The Polish stopper was questionably beaten at his near post in the second half by Canaries winger Jacob Murphy; a goal which drew the home side level and ultimately changed the course of the match.
However, his excellent goalkeeping performance throughout the rest of the game earned him the man of the match award, and boss McCarthy urged critics to focus on the positive aspects of his performance.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, he said: “It was a hard-fought point. They probably had more possession but having taken the lead, you see Barts take the man-of-the-match award but he’s annoyed he didn’t stop the shot.
“It was a good performance by us and he continues to be outstanding so we can forgive him.
“Myles Kenlock looked shattered so it was a matter of getting him off and pushing Knudsen further forward. He’s the hero now he’s got two against them.
“We weren’t dominating, and they [Norwich] didn’t look like scoring to be honest, but I can only credit my team for keeping it at 1-1.”
Controversy flared in the early stages of the match, with Ipswich denied a blatant penalty after striker David McGoldrick was wrestled to the ground in the penalty area.
However, McCarthy played the incident down, claiming it wouldn’t have made “a blind bit of difference” whether the decision was given the way of his side or not.
The Tractor Boys take on Brentford at Portman Road next weekend, as they look to return to winning ways following the stalemate at Carrow Road.
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