Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy insists his side had to work hard to beat Albion.

David McGoldrick scored on 20 and 24 minutes as the Tractor Boys won 2-0 at Portman Road yesterday.

The Seagulls did not muster a single shot on target although Andrew Crofts missed a great chance early on.

But McCarthy said: “We had to beat them. We didn’t get anything easy from them.

“I think they are a good outfit, good players. They started better than us, missed a sitter.

“That’s this league. Last week they (Ipswich’s opponents Wigan) made saves or we missed chances.

“You’ve got to take your chances when they come along and we did with a really good performance from Dids (McGoldrick).”

McCarthy recognised Albion could have had a penalty in the second half when defender Tommy Smith seemed to handle Will Buckley’s shot.