Middlesbrough v Ipswich: Scott Loach believes Town were hard-done-by to leave the Riverside Stadium empty-handed this afternoon.

Ipswich might have lost 2-0 at Middlesbrough thanks to Luke Williams’ 34th minute opener and an injury-time strike from Mustapha Carayol.

But Loach praised the performance with Town enjoying a lion share of possession without carving out many clear-cut chances.

The keeper insisted: “That is probably one of our best performances of the season.

“We had a lot of shots at goal but didn’t really hit the target. But if you don’t hit the target, you are not going to score goals – though I am not knocking the strikers.

“It was hard to take, especially when they broke away and scored the second. But you would accept that as we were chasing the game with not long to go.

“It is hard to swallow, but at least the performance was there. That is the positive we can take from that.

“I know it is all ifs and buts, but it is only a matter of time before we start turning things around.”