Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was full of praise for his Tractor Boys side after the Suffolk based outfit impressively beat Wolves yesterday evening, in comments given to the East Anglian Daily Times.
Going 2-0 down after 15 minutes could well have seen Ipswich fold and crash out of the EFL Cup, but goals from Omari Hutchinson, Freddie Ladapo and Jack Taylor helped McKenna’s men pull off an unbelievable comeback 3-2 win against a team in the division above.
Jack Taylor’s strike was the pick of the bunch, an attractive passage of passing play eventually found its way to the midfielder who fiercely struck a long-range effort past Wolves stand-in goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.
It means Ipswich have now won 10 of their last 11 games in all competitions, an extremely tough opponent for whoever draws the Tractor Boys next in the EFL Cup.
Fantastic Start To Championship Life
Away from cup competitions, Ipswich have also taken to Championship football this season like a duck to water after clinching automatic promotion to the division last campaign.
McKenna’s men currently find themselves in second spot, just behind Leicester City owing to goal difference with seven wins and one loss from eight played.
The Tractor Boys are simply blowing teams away with their full throttle approach, scoring 17 goals already this campaign which is the joint highest scored alongside Norwich City.
A recent win over Blackburn Rovers saw Ipswich attack relentlessly, leading 3-1 after just 25 minutes on the clock. They would go on to win 4-3 in this contest, Massimo Luongo the hero late on to seal the victory at Portman Road.
Ipswich have also been impressive on the road so far, their only loss so far this season actually coming at home.
They’ve shown their defensive steel on their travels away from scoring goals for fun, winning back-to-back away matches 1-0 in the middle of September versus Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton.
It remains to be seen whether they can keep this standard up for the entire Championship season, but Ipswich will be overjoyed at how they’ve started in a demanding division directly after promotion.
What’s Been Said?
Speaking after the comeback victory in the Cup, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was delighted with the character his team showed to win 3-2 on the night.
He said: “There is so much to be proud of in the performance, in the character and the quality that we showed.
Of course it was a difficult start to the game. I don’t think we started particularly badly, but the first attack they had we made a little mistake and we got punished – that’s the quality of the opponent, it can happen.
Then it’s a really good set-piece from them and that’s one area you can suffer a little bit from when you make a lot of changes (10) to the team.
It really tested us as a group. It tested our bravery to keep trying to play through the opposition. It tested our bravery off the ball to keep jumping and trying to press high up the pitch, defend big spaces and defend one-v-ones.
It was a great show of character from the group. We’ve been through similar situations with the players who have been playing more so in the league, but tonight other players have come into the team, having not got that same match rhythm and recent experience of being in that situation, and done the same. That’s a good reflection of the group.”
McKenna also commented on the winning strike from Jack Taylor, praising the midfielder who joined the Tractor Boys from Peterborough United this summer.
He added: “What a goal. He’s got some strike, he really does. You just want him to be the person that the ball falls to there.
We worked it through the pitch well and once you get Jack anywhere within 20-25 yards of the goal on his right foot you know he’s got a great chance of testing the keeper.
I thought his all-round game was excellent. I thought him and Lee (Evans) were excellent in the middle of the pitch. That was the best they’ve been this season.
Jack tops it up with a goal and Lee captains the side against the team he’s telling me released him makes it a great night for the two of them.”
Writer’s View
Kieran McKenna’s pride in what his Ipswich Town side are currently achieving was evident in his post-match thoughts, a manager who is currently ecstatic with the group of players he has at his disposal.
Many did predict that Ipswich could be a dark horse for promotion this season, and with how everything is going on the pitch currently from a Tractor Boys perspective, it’s clear to see why.
McKenna will hope that his men are rewarded with a big Cup tie in the next round of the EFL Cup, a game in which they could play the role of giant killer.
