Ipswich Town 3-0 Coventry City: Frank Lampard’s verdict

Coventry City manager Frank Lampard insists Ipswich Town forward George Hirst should have been sent off during his side’s 3-0 defeat at Portman Road.

Hirst, already on what Lampard described as a “soft” yellow card, took a shot well after the whistle had gone for offside with the score still 0-0 around the half-hour mark.

Despite the offence mirroring an earlier incident that earned Josh Eccles a booking, the Ipswich striker escaped further punishment. He later went on to score Town’s second goal as they defeated the Championship leaders and climbed to fourth place.

When asked whether Hirst should still have been on the pitch, Lampard was clear:

“No, he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t. I don’t particularly like yellow cards for kicking the ball away, but if Josh Eccles gets one for the same thing, then Hirst unfortunately should as well.

It’s nothing personal, but those are the rules. The whistle goes, he stops slightly, looks, shoots wide—exactly like Josh did. That decision went against us today.”

Assessing his team’s overall performance, Lampard said he felt Coventry were the stronger side in the first half.

“We were excellent winning second balls, our pressing was spot on, and Ipswich struggled to play through us. You could sense the tension in the stadium.”

However, Ipswich took the lead from a scrappy phase of play involving multiple crosses before the ball fell kindly to be finished, shifting the momentum heading into the break.

“In the second half, they score on a transition with Hirst running through, and it becomes difficult.”

Despite the final score, Lampard praised his squad’s attitude and competitiveness.

“I have no real complaints about how the players approached the game. If you asked which team was in the Premier League last year, it would be hard to tell.

Ipswich have a strong squad and will be up there. It just wasn’t our day for a number of reasons.”