Saturday 26 September 2015 22:51, UK
Steve Cotterill admitted he was left with a "tinge of disappointment" after his Bristol City side conceded a late equaliser at Ipswich to slip to the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.
A topsy-turvy affair at Portman Road saw Ipswich take the lead 45 seconds into the second half through skipper Luke Chambers before the Robins hit back with goals from Luke Freeman and Jonathan Kodjia inside three minutes.
But just as it looked like Bristol City were about to claim their first win in five games, Ryan Fraser ended a fine move from the home side to secure a 2-2 draw and a point.
Cotterill said: "I think we should have won the game so I am a little disappointed to be honest.
"If you had said to me we would come to Ipswich and get a point, I would have taken that. But once we went 2-1 up, we stopped playing and stopped passing the ball.
"You do get more punished in this league. Last year in League One, we weren't playing against strikers who are on £40,000 or £50,000 a week or centre-backs who are that bit tougher and bigger.
"There is a tinge of disappointment as we have ended up bottom in the Championship."
The dramatic events of the second half were in stark contrast to a dismal first 45 minutes which was short on quality.
Kodjia should have opened the scoring after four minutes although credit must go to Ipswich goalkeeper Dean Gerken who made a fine reaction save from the striker's powerful strike. The best the home side offered was a deflected Daryl Murphy shot which rolled just wide.
That all changed in an action-packed second half.
Chambers headed home fellow full-back Jonas Knudsen's deep cross before Bristol City drew level in fortuitous circumstances, when Freeman's powder-puff shot deflected off Tommy Smith's heel and went past the flat-footed Gerken.
Minutes later, Kodjia got his goal, racing past a static Ipswich backline before firing into the roof of the net.
The home side looked to set up a grandstand finish but the breakthrough finally came in the 86th minute when Freddie Sears and Brett Pitman combined to set up the onrushing Fraser to score from close range.
Ipswich could have won it after Pitman headed just wide, and manager Mick McCarthy preferred to praise his side's comeback rather than reflect on a below-par showing.
McCarthy said: "They started well and we needed a fantastic save from Dean Gerken to keep us in it.
"But I changed our shape and I thought we were the better team in the first half.
"We start brilliantly in the second half but then the deflection was a real kick in the 'ging-gangs'. It was a big slice of luck though we should have done better to stop the shot.
"Their second goal was a good one from their point of view but defensively appalling. But I must admire the response of my team for the way they got back in the game - and we had enough chances to win it."
