Bristol City 2 Ipswich 1

JON STEAD stole the 90th-minute winner that had Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy turning the air blue.

Substitute striker Stead buoyed bottom club Bristol with only his third goal in 15 starts to drag Ipswich deep into the relegation mix.

McCarthy fumed: “We made a b******s of it. We f****d up and I’m p****d off.”

He added: “We had the best of the chances and we let them off the hook.”

Daryl Murphy, on loan from Sunderland, sidefooted Ipswich into a deserved 35th-minute lead.

But Stead’s co-sub hitman Steve Davies — on for early casualty Ryan Taylor, who broke his collarbone — equalised immediately after half-time.

Davies thundered the ball into the roof of the net after fine work by veteran defender Louis Carey and Paul Anderson.

But Ipswich were well in control when — seconds from time — Davies moved on Marvin Elliott’s long pass to Stead, who twisted and turned before lashing home his shot.

New Bristol boss Sean O’Driscoll said after his home debut: “I didn’t actually see the winner. I was more concerned about a large square in midfield we had left open.”We had to weather a bit of a storm but we showed character.”

The Sun