admin“We could have won but lost because…..”- Kieran McKenna furiously react amid 2-1 defeat as he revealed the reason behind their lost at Middlesbrough
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McKenna Admits Mistakes Cost Town in 2-1 Defeat at Middlesbrough
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna had few complaints after watching his side fall to a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough, admitting that too many errors proved costly.
An own goal from Cedric Kipre in first-half stoppage time — just minutes after George Hirst saw his penalty saved by Boro keeper Sol Brynn — gave the hosts the lead. Former Town target Morgan Whittaker doubled the advantage ten minutes into the second half, before skipper Dara O’Shea pulled one back with a header in the 76th minute, his first goal for the club. Despite late pressure, Town couldn’t find an equaliser.
Both sides created plenty of chances throughout the match, and McKenna’s men might have had an earlier penalty when Alfie Jones appeared to handle a Hirst effort.
“Probably too eventful for our liking,” McKenna said when asked about the lively nature of the game. “I don’t have too many complaints about the result because we made too many mistakes to win a tough away match like this against a good, in-form team.
“We didn’t manage the difficult phases of the game well enough — especially at the end of the first half when things got chaotic. We had the big moment with the penalty to go 1-0 up, and the night could have been very different, but you can’t go in 1-0 down from that situation. We needed to be stronger.
“The same goes for the start of the second half around their second goal. It’s not like us to be so easily played through — we didn’t stay compact or strong enough defensively in that spell.
“Other than that, there wasn’t much between the sides. Both teams had plenty of chances, but we allowed the game to become too open. Ultimately, we made too many mistakes and didn’t handle the key moments well enough to take anything from a place like this.”
McKenna highlighted the spell before half-time as the turning point: “The game changes completely if we go 1-0 up — that’s been the story of our away matches so far. I don’t think we’ve led away from home yet, even though we’ve had big moments to take the lead in every game.
“When you miss a penalty and then concede a poor goal right before the break, you give the opposition and their crowd huge momentum. That completely changed the match.”
Once again, Town’s substitutes made an impression. Marcelino Nunez delivered the corner that led to O’Shea’s goal, while Jack Clarke and Ivan Azon also caused problems for the Boro defence.
“The subs made a real impact,” McKenna said. “We had a good spell chasing the equaliser — Jack Clarke’s cross to Ivan was just inches away from going in. We had a couple of big moments to make it 2-2. The players gave everything, and while Middlesbrough defended well late on, we pushed hard.
“We’ll need that kind of impact from the bench going forward, but the reality is we can’t keep going 1-0 down away from home. It makes things so much harder. We need to start taking the lead and stop giving away cheap goals.”
Goalkeeper Alex Palmer was kept busy throughout the first half, producing several fine saves — a contrast to recent matches where he’s been largely untested.
“It was really unlike us tonight,” McKenna admitted. “We’ve been solid defensively — I don’t think we’d conceded from open play since the Derby game before this. But Middlesbrough carried a real counter threat, and we gave them too much.
“Alex had to make some big saves, and to be fair, their keeper did as well. It was that kind of game — open, with chances at both ends — but Alex did really well for us.”
McKenna also confirmed that midfielder Azor Matusiwa will miss Tuesday’s home clash with Charlton after receiving his fifth booking of the season, one of which came in the abandoned match at Blackburn Rovers.
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