Barnsley v Ipswich: Blues boss Mick McCarthy says a share of the spoils was the very least his side deserved after late goals from Christophe Berra and David McGoldrick secured a 2-2 comeback draw at Barnsley.

Town trailed 1-0 to Chris O’Grady’s goal at half-time, but then completely dominated the second period before Tomasz Cywka’s deflected free-kick extended the hosts’ lead massively against run of play.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves though, McCarthy’s men came roaring back to level the match up through Christophe Berra’s close-range finish (81) and David McGoldrick’s fierce strike (84).

Indeed, Town could have won it in stoppage-time as debutant Paul Green saw a shot blocked inside the area.

Asked if a draw was the least his side deserved, McCarthy replied: “I’d say so. It looked like being the most one-sided 2-0 defeat there’s ever been with nine minutes to go.

“We’ve played well in the second half and had enough chances to win it. We were profligate and let them off the hook because we had the ball at the edge of their box, playing well, we lose it and they get a free-kick and stick in the back of our net.

“Then there is always that thought that it could be one of those days, but we’re on the sidelines shouting ‘get your heads up, keep running and keep doing it’ because we’d played well enough.

“I’ve been there as a player. You can get that resignation when a goal goes against when you’ve played well, but we didn’t let their heads drop, we rallied them on and we got what we deserved by a good stretch.

“I don’t think we got what we deserved actually. I think we should have won.”

A point sees the seventh-place Blues close the gap on the play-off places to three points after sixth-place Reading lost 2-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

“I think we’ve closed the gap haven’t we?” said McCarthy. “Listen, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got 16 games to play still. It’s a bloomin’ good point from 2-0 down with nine minutes to play. Actually it was 15 minutes to play (with stoppage-time) and that was the point I was making. I thought if we got one back we might win it.”

On returning to his hometown club, McCarthy added: “I love coming back here. You heard them singing ‘Mick McCarthy is a Red’. I am and I always will be, but they don’t give me anything when I come back and I don’t give up anything lightly. That’s the way it should be.

Barnsley boss Danny Wilson, whose side remain second-bottom, said: “I’m frustrated rather than disappointed. In the second half we had our backs to the wall, but the two goals we conceded were disappointing ones. The first one is a mis-control and the second one is a deflection, We defended too deep instead of taking a forwards step.

“I’m sure Mick will think they deserved it, but we should have seen the game out better. The goals we conceded weren’t down to the conditions, but the wind did play a big part today.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy explained why striker Paul Taylor – pictured leaving Barnsley on the train a few hours before the match – had been sent home.

He said: “He’s got toothache. He had an abscess under his tooth and his head was bouncing. He was never going to play, he took antibiotics to settle it down, which it did a bit, but as soon as you start moving and the blood starts rushing around he wouldn’t have been any good to any of us so we sent him home. He needs to get that sorted out.”

– See Monday’s EADT and Ipswich Star for match analysis and more reaction.