Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has refused to confirm if striker George Hirst will remain on penalty duties following his miss at Middlesbrough last week.
The Tractor Boys travelled to Teesside on Friday night knowing a win would take them into the play-off positions. In a frantic, end-to-end encounter, they had a glorious opportunity to take the lead shortly before half time when they were awarded a penalty.
Striker Hirst stepped up in search of his fourth goal of the season but saw his effort smartly saved by Boro goalkeeper Sol Brynn. Two minutes later, the hosts were in front following a Cedric Kipre own goal.
Hirst Miss Proves Costly
Middlesbrough scoring in the second minute of first half added time was a huge blow for Kieran McKenna’s side. Matters got even worse 10 minutes after the restart when Morgan Whittaker scored his first goal for the club.
The Riverside Stadium ERUPTS as Middlesbrough keeper Brynn DENIES Hirst from the penalty spot! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/B0yecwhqMT
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 17, 2025
McKenna Admits He Has Host Of Options
Ipswich return to Championship action tomorrow night when they welcome Charlton Athletic to Portman Road. Speaking in his pre-match press conference this afternoon, McKenna was asked if Hirst would remain on penalty duty:
“We’ve got a few experienced takers in the squad, to be fair. George has scored one and missed one in the league.
“He stepped up with a big, big penalty against Birmingham and you can probably have more pressured situations, but it was the first game and it was still a really big moment and he took a really good penalty.
“He’s taken good penalties for us before, so we trust him as a taker, trust Jack as a taker, trust Chuba [Akpom] as a taker, I’d trust Ashley Young with a penalty, I’d trust Sam Szmodics, I’d trust Jaden [Philogene], there’s lots of players I’d trust.
“We we designate for each game and how that pans out over the course of the season we’ll see, but we feel like we’ve got a lot of good penalty-takers there.
“To be fair, I don’t think you can get away from it, it was a really, really good save the other night, and that can happen to the best players in the world. Whoever takes the next one, will do the very best to score.”
Writer’s View
George Hirst will have been devastated to have missed the chance to put his side ahead at the Riverside Stadium, especially as Middlesbrough took the lead just moments later. However, although he scored from the spot against Birmingham, it’s fair to say that he probably isn’t McKenna’s first choice.
The former Manchester United coach protected his striker by saying he still trusts him in such a situation, although then went on to list a host of players who can also take them. Since Hirst tucked his away on the opening day, penalty duty has fallen to Jack Clarke, who wasn’t on the pitch at the time on Friday night. The former Sunderland winger is perhaps first choice, even though the manager stopped short of saying so.
