Ipswich v Leicester: IPSWICH Town boss Mick McCarthy believes Leicester City captain Wes Morgan lost his head in the build-up to David McGoldrick’s late winner at Portman Road.

Furious Foxes boss Nigel Pearson claimed that his centre-back had been kicked at off-the-ball by Michael Chopra and then elbowed by Daryl Murphy. The skipper was then booked for his over zealous protests and, looking to go in hard with Murphy soon afterwards, was disposed, the ball quickly played into David McGoldrick for the late winner.

Asked about the incidents leading up to the goal, McCarthy said: “I think first and foremost he (Morgan) blocked Chopra by running across the front of him and then there was a tangle of legs. Whether Chops caught him or not I don’t know.

“That upset the apple cart a bit. I think Chops jumped up with his arms a it at a corner kick, but didn’t make any contact (there was also a coming to with Murphy).

“That would be the last of my worries if I was playing against Chops though. I’d be kicking the ***** out of him and be making sure he didn’t put the ball in the net.

“It got a little bit fractious. There were pushes in both boxes, I’m screaming for fouls, he (Nigel Pearson) is screaming for fouls, there are words between us.

“As a centre-half you have to keep your composure – because that’s what people do. As a centre-half I went out with sole intention to upset the two ******* I was up against, or anyone who came anywhere near me.

“I played against Mick Harford and Tony Cunningham. Their intention was smash me across the nose and upset me.

“It’s the one that gets upset less. He (Morgan) did and he made a mistake. When all that’s going on just boot it out and get a clean sheet.

“I’ve got sympathy with Nigel (Pearson) but I’ve got no sympathy with the player. If it was my centre-half, I’d be telling them ‘you let them upset you’. A little **** upset you and it’s cost us the game. That is what happened.”

A furious Pearson, giving his version of events, said: “We weren’t at our best today, but still had enough chances to get something out of the game. But there were other incidents that had an affect of the result.

“All you have to do is look at the two incidents. I’m not a sour grapes person, Mick’s doing a really good job here and I don’t want to look like I’m looking for excuses.

“But unfortunately today there were a couple of very unsavoury incidents off the ball which have possibly contributed to what happens.

“The officials have a difficult job, but they were in good positions, I’ve seen the incidents again and I think it’s appropriate to raise the issue.

“He got booked for complaining about somebody elbowing him in the face – I think everybody could see that. And Chopra kicked him off the ball just prior to that.

“It’s unfortunate I’m talking about things like that rather than football, but there you are – that’s life.

“All I’ll say is I’ve seen the incidents again and it’s unfortunate they weren’t dealt with. I can understand Wes feeling a little hard done by.”

Reflecting on another hugely-important victory, McCarthy said:“I’m delighted, relieved and glad it’s over to be honest.

“It was a well-organised and gutsy performance – all the things that Craig Shakespeare (Leicester assistant boss) said in his interview on Thursday. He said ‘you know what to expect from a Mick McCarthy team’. Somebody asked me if I took that as a compliment. Well I do when they work as hard as they did today.

“We weren’t the best team by any stretch of the imagination, but we got a clean sheet and, when it was required, we had that bit of composure through David McGoldrick to get the winner.”

– See Monday’s EADT for match analysis, comment and more reaction.