Mark Venus believes Ipswich Town should hold their heads up high - despite crashing to their fourth straight defeat against Leeds United.

The Blues tumbled to a 2-1 reverse at Portman Road on Saturday and Venus had the dubious honour of scoring at both ends.

His own goal put the Yorkshire side in the driving seat and then, after Robbie Keane had doubled their advantage, offered Town hope with a bullet free-kick.

The match was overshadowed, however, by the controversial sending-off of Marcus Stewart.

The Ipswich striker was given his marching orders by referee Peter Jones for a foul on Ian Harte but Town boss George Burley plans to appeal against the ruling.

Venus said of the flashpoint: "I was the other side of the pitch but the decision looked harsh. From what I could see, the linesman made the referee's mind up for him.

"It was a body-blow but at least we kept going, despite being down to ten men. We showed a lot of spirit."

The defender added: "It was always going to be tough because we've had so many matches recently and done so match travelling.

"But I thought that was as well as we've played for several weeks.

"We can take a lot of credit from our performance and were very unfortunate to lose. Leeds only created a couple of chances and scored from them both.

"My free-kick took a slight deflection but I was still delighted to score because I don't get too many goals, especially in the Premiership.

"As for the own goal, these things happen as a defender."

Meanwhile, Ipswich's Premiership date at Aston Villa - originally scheduled for January 31 - has been rearranged for Saturday, March 10.

Weekend speculation has linked Town with Brighton and Hove Albion striker Bobby Zamora and Newcastle United's out-of-favour midfielder Stephen Glass.

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