Malky Mackay admitted his Watford side used their 'get out of jail free card' after they snatched a 1-1 draw at Ipswich.

Watford were woeful last night but substitute Nathan Ellington struck an injury-time equaliser when he got on the end of a cross from Danny Graham.

The result added to the pressure on Ipswich boss Roy Keane - still without a Championship win after 13 games - while it left his Watford counterpart stunned but thankful.

Mackay said: "We were below par and Ipswich deserved a victory. It was absolutely a get out of jail for us. If I'm honest I could not see us getting an equaliser the way we were playing.

"We kept going and fighting to the last minute, which is something I expect from them and it is something they give me.

"We had a long jounrey back from our game at Middlesbrough on Saturday night and it certainly looked at times that some of our youngsters were feeling that."

Watford fell behind after four minutes when Gareth McAuley headed in past Scott Loach.

Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock will try to help rebuild Freddie Sears's shattered confidence ahead of Saturday's match against Nottingham Forest.

The on-loan West Ham striker drew another blank in the 2-0 defeat at Leicester City last night and Warnock is convinced Sears is still suffering the effects of his "ghost goal" ruled out by referee Rob Shoebridge against Bristol City back in August.

The boss said: "He was really down after that carry on. We have got to get Freddie back to firing."