How the Irish fared: Murphy and Tabb make McCarthy happy

Goals from Daryl Murphy and Jay Tabb gave Mick McCarthy an early Christmas present on Saturday as a 2-0 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough lifted Ipswich to second in the Championship.

Murphy, the Championship’s leading marksman, grabbed his 14th of the season after 25 minutes before the diminutive Tabb headed home a second on the stroke of half-time.

“If I had been asked what I wanted for Christmas, then three points today would have been the answer,” McCarthy said.