After an amazing victory in the National Cup, Ipswich Town’s coach complimented his players.
In remarks to the East Anglian Daily Times, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was full of admiration for his Tractor Boys after the Suffolk-based team defeated Wolves Friday night.
After falling behind 2-0 after 15 minutes, Ipswich might have succumbed and been ousted from the EFL Cup, but goals from Omari Hutchinson, Freddie Ladapo, and Jack Taylor helped McKenna’s side accomplish a remarkable 3-0 comeback against an EFL Cup club. divide to the right.
The best of the bunch was Jack Taylor’s shot, a tempting pass that eventually went to the midfielder, who powerfully blocked a long-range effort past Wolves substitute keeper Daniel Bentley.
That means Ipswich have now won 10 of their previous 11 games in all competitions, making the Tractor Boys an incredibly difficult opponent for whoever next tempts them into the EFL Cup.
In addition to cup events, Ipswich have taken to the Championship football league like a duck to water this season after being promoted to the league automatically last season. McKenna’s team is presently second in the table, just behind Leicester City on goal difference, with seven wins and one loss after eight games.
The Tractor Boys just blow teams away with their all-around attitude, scoring 17 goals this season, tying Norwich City for the league lead.
Ipswich Town attacked relentlessly in their recent victory over Blackburn Rovers, leading 3-1 after only 25 minutes of play. They went on to win the game 4-3, with Massimo Luongo scoring late to seal the victory at Portman Road.
Ipswich have also been impressive this season, with their only defeat coming at home. They demonstrated their defensive strength by scoring goals for fun on their away trip, winning back-to-back 1-0 away victory over Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton in mid-September.
It remains to be seen whether they can maintain this form throughout the Championship season, but Ipswich will be pleased with how they have begun in such a difficult division so soon after promotion.
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was pleased with his team’s character in winning 3-2 on the night after speaking after the Cup comeback triumph.
“There is so much to be proud of in the performance, in the character, and in the quality that we demonstrated,” he remarked.
Of course, the game had a tough start. I don’t think we started badly, but on their first attack, we made a small error and were punished – that’s the quality of the opponent, it can happen.
Then it’s a really excellent set-piece from them, which is one area where you may suffer when you make a lot of changes (10) to the team.
It truly put us to the test as a group. It took guts to keep trying to play past the opposition. Off the ball, we had to be gutsy to keep jumping and trying to push high up the pitch, defend big areas, and defend one-v-ones.
It was a fantastic display of character from the group. We’ve been through similar scenarios with the players who have been playing more in the league, but tonight other players have stepped into the team without having that same match rhythm or recent experience of being in that situation and done the same. That accurately reflects the group.”
McKenna also spoke about Jack Taylor’s winning goal, praising the midfielder who joined the Tractor Boys from Peterborough United this summer.
“What a goal,” he continued. He’s got some strike, I swear. You simply want him to be the guy to whom the ball lands.
We moved it effectively through the pitch, and once Jack gets within 20-25 yards of the goal on his right foot, you know he has a good opportunity of challenging the keeper.
His all-around game was superb in my opinion. In the middle of the pitch, I thought he and Lee (Evans) were outstanding. That was their best performance of the season.
Jack adds a goal, and Lee captains the team against the team he claims released him, making it a perfect night for the two of them.”
Author’s Opinion
Kieran McKenna’s satisfaction in what his Ipswich Town side is now accomplishing was clear in his post-match views, a manager who is currently overjoyed with the set of players at his disposal.
Many predicted that Ipswich would be a dark horse for promotion this season, and given way things are currently going on the pitch for the Tractor Boys, it’s easy to see why.
McKenna will be hoping that his team is rewarded with a major Cup fixture in the following round of the EFL Cup, a game in which they can play giant slayer.
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