Reece Brown hailed the nine-man Blues after Mick McCarthy’s men were denied a battling point at Nottingham Forest last night.

Lewis McGugan’s deflected shot, five minutes from time, was all that separated the two teams on a fiery night which saw Lee Martin and Richard Stearman dismissed for the visitors by referee David Webb.

Martin only had himself to blame for his first half dismissal, lashing out at Forest’s Henri Lansbury and receiving a straight red, while Stearman picked up a second yellow card for catching Andy Reid in the face as the pair chased a loose ball in the second half.

Town gave as good as they got in a lively first period and were angry at Webb when Martin was seemingly felled in the box, the referee awarding a free kick.

Brown, who was introduced a substitute as McCarthy looked to keep the game tight, said: “We played well with nine men and I don’t think we deserved to lose.

“I thought we were the better team but we have just got to get on with it and look ahead to Peterborough on Saturday.

“Everyone’s head is down but the players know we did not deserve that.”

The defeat leaves Town four points clear of the Championship drop-zone, ahead of Saturday’s crunch game at Peterborough.

The London Road-outfit drew 2-2 at home to Charlton last night and could move out of the bottom three with a win at the weekend.