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Neil Midgley made his first start for the Town senior team in this rather drab and bad pitch affected game at Vale Park. The Blues, missing both Jim Magilton and David Johnson, just did enough to beat a Port Vale side which looked better than their lowly position suggests.
Town avoided an FA Cup shock with a comfortable win over ten-man Morecambe. Jamie Clapham scored after a minute before Jim Bentley saw red for the visitors. The second goal, from Darren Bent, was a long time coming before Ambrose added a third and Bent notched his second and Town's fourth.
Key defender Gareth McAuley says he could be fit enough to face Nottingham Forest today, despite manager Roy Keane saying that the Northern Irishman wouldn’t be fit enough to play two games in three days. McAuley, who is continuing talks regarding his new Town contract, was a surprise inclusion at the Ricoh Arena after recovering from achilles surgery.
Boss Mick McCarthy believes his Town side are well worth their second place in the Championship at the halfway point in their season.
Goalscoring hero Sixto Peralta will miss Saturday's crunch clash with Sunderland at Portman Road. The Argentinian injured his foot towards the end of the Leicester game and was replaced with Jim Magilton.