WHILE his opposite number Dennis Wise concentrated on the sending off of Leeds skipper Kevin Nicholls, Jim Magilton was concerned about the well-being of key midfielder Gavin Williams.

By Elvin King

WHILE his opposite number Dennis Wise concentrated on the sending off of Leeds skipper Kevin Nicholls, Jim Magilton was concerned about the well-being of key midfielder Gavin Williams.

The Ipswich Town manager said: “Gavin had a problem with his groin all week. It is the same problem he had in pre-season and necessitated a routine operation.

“It has caused him to miss 103 days training since the start of the season.

“Gavin had a fitness test, but the injury became worse so I had to take him off. I am very concerned because he is playing well. He is a very important player for us.”

Williams was seeing a specialist today, and he said: “It was touch and go whether I played.

“We said we would give it a go, but the pain was intense and was only alleviated for 30 seconds after I scored.

“It is very frustrating because I have yet to get match fit this season and hopefully it can be sorted quickly.

“Hopefully it is a reaction to playing games after being out for so long.

“It was not the best of games, but we will take the three points.”

Magilton looked at the general picture and said: “The town of Ipswich needed a bit of a boost after all the terrible things that have been going on.

“It is nice if we can give people a bit of joy, but of course it's only a football match.

“It was not a good performance but we stood up to Leeds and kept a clean sheet. We had to be competitive.”

Magilton thought Owen Garvan was lucky to avoid censure in the melee triggered by Kevin Nicholls' sending off offence.

“I am told Nicholls raised his elbow and if he's done that, he had to go.

“By the same token Owen was very lucky not to get a red card and I have had a word with him. If he raises his hands, by the letter of the law he should be sent off,” he said.

After the game, Wise showed the media a video of Alan Lee's challenge on Hayden Foxe, and he also went in to speak to the referee.

Wise, 40 on Saturday, claimed that Lee's yellow card was more worthy of a sending-off than Nicholls'

“It is driving me bonkers and I had to show the referee,” said Wise. “Things like this can change a season at a club while referees get away with it.

“We created the better chances and maybe we should have won.”