Ipswich Town: Darnell Furlong on 3-1 defeat at Leicester City

Ipswich Town defender Darnell Furlong admitted it was tough to end the week on a 3-1 defeat at Leicester City, especially after coming off wins against Coventry City and Stoke City.

The Blues had carried plenty of confidence into the match, buoyed by victories over two of their promotion rivals, but they fell behind 3-0 at the King Power Stadium with goals from Bobby Reid, Abdul Fatawu, and Jordan Ayew.

Jens Cajuste pulled one back, giving Town hope of a comeback, but it wasn’t enough.

“It was very frustrating,” Furlong said after the match. “We’d had a great week, and we wanted to finish it perfectly, but things just didn’t go our way today. It was tough.

“We can definitely perform better. We’ve shown better this season and we’re still developing as a team.

“I think they scored against the run of play early on. Up until that point, we were doing well. Then we conceded another goal that shouldn’t happen again this season. It put us on the back foot, but we tried to fight back. Going 2-0 down was difficult, but we always believed.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to show the quality needed to score three goals and turn it around.”

The second goal, Fatawu’s strike from inside his own half, felt like the decisive blow. A halftime deficit of just one goal could have given Ipswich motivation, knowing Leicester have struggled in the second half of games, but Fatawu’s strike completely shifted the momentum.

“That’s a goal we won’t concede again this season,” Furlong insisted. “It was a one-off—something you might see just a couple of times in your career. It was a sucker punch, but these things happen, and we tried to bounce back.”

When asked about manager Kieran McKenna’s halftime message, Furlong revealed: “He told us to stick to what we believe in, keep pushing, and make it difficult for them. The focus was on getting the next goal, which didn’t happen, but everyone gave their all.

“It had been a good week until then, so it was frustrating not to cap it off with a win.”

Despite the loss, Furlong remains optimistic. Ipswich had lifted spirits at the club following defeats at Oxford United and a poor showing at Blackburn Rovers, and consecutive wins over Coventry and Stoke had demanded a lot from the squad. But Furlong is confident it won’t affect future performances.

“We’ve got a strong squad, quality players, and we’re fit—we train hard,” he said. “This is the Championship, and sometimes things just don’t go your way. We know we can perform better.

“Leicester are a top team with great quality. On our day, we can match anyone. A few things went against us today, and we couldn’t hit our peak, but that’s football.”

Ipswich will look to bounce back against Sheffield Wednesday next week, with key fixtures against promotion rivals Millwall and Coventry coming up after Christmas.

“We’re never short of belief,” Furlong said. “We know we can come back, win games, and beat the best teams in the league. Today was tough, a few things went against us, but we know our capabilities and won’t dwell on it.”

The Blues currently sit fifth in the Championship, holding a play-off spot, but wins for Coventry and Middlesbrough have left them eight points behind second place and 13 behind the leaders.

“To be honest, we don’t focus too much on the table,” Furlong added. “It’s about turning up and beating the team in front of us. Whether it’s Coventry, Stoke, or Leicester, we just go out there and give our best.”