Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy has admitted that it was a "good time" to play Brighton & Hove Albion after watching his side become only the second team to beat the Seagulls in the Championship this season.
Daryl Murphy's first-half strike handed Ipswich a 1-0 victory at The Amex, their fifth away win in a row, which equals a club record set 39 years ago in 1976.
McCarthy said afterwards that he felt the "opportunity" was there given the fact that Brighton were missing some key players, especially in defence.
"I thought we had an opportunity," he told reporters. "Brighton have lost a few players and we were playing them at a good time because we have been playing well.
"I thought we were the better team, to be honest. Our keeper Dean Gerken didn't make a lot of saves. We had the better chances whereas Brighton had the ball percentage."
Despite Ipswich moving within eight points of the top two, McCarthy does not believe that the club, who were beaten by local rivals Norwich City in last season's playoffs, can get promoted automatically.
He added: "It's tough to get a run of away wins and we've got Burnley on Saturday - a tough ask, but we'll see.
"It's not realistic for us to catch Middlesbrough and Derby and I don't think automatic promotion is realistic. But we will be trying like hell to catch them."
Tonight's win saw Ipswich close the gap to fourth-placed Brighton to four points, while Saturday's opponents Burnley are one above the Tractor Boys in fifth.
Pascal Lemesre
