Roy Keane saluted two-goal hero Jon Stead after the striker came up trumps in Ipswich’s 3-0 victory against Queens Park Rangers at Portman Road.

The front man had been sent-off during Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in the English Championship.

Town are appealing against the decision, making him eligible to play today, and he responded with two important second-half goals.

Blues boss Keane said: “Jon did really well. Saturday was disappointing for him but you’re always going to have disappointments as a footballer.

“You’re going to get injured, suspended and lose a bit of form. You have to deal with setbacks but it’s about action.

“I said two or three weeks ago that I wanted one of my strikers to step out of the pack.

“Steady’s done that but how he didn’t end up with a hat-trick I’ll never know.”

Keane was delighted that his side bounced back after their disappointment at Selhurst Park.

He continued: “It was a good reaction from Saturday. All the squad contributed and there were plenty of pluses.

“We scored three goals at home and on another day it could have been more. I’m really pleased with all the players.

“Any team can win a football match but the good teams keep winning. We’ve not won back-to-back games since last May, but we’re getting there.”