“To the fans”- Chuba Akpom deliver a heartfelt message to Ipswich fans after he netted his first goal for the club in the 2-0 victory against Hull City at the MKM Stadium<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ipswich Town forward Chuba Akpom<\/strong> says he is deeply appreciative of the club\u2019s supporters after scoring his first goal for the Blues in their 2\u20130 win over Hull City at the MKM Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akpom capitalised on a rebound just yards from goal, tapping in after Dara O\u2019Shea\u2019s header forced Ivor Pandur into a save from a corner. The goal ended a 12-game wait for his first strike since joining on loan from Ajax in the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The striker admitted the patience of the supporters helped keep his confidence alive during that slow start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI honestly needed a scrappy one like that,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery striker wants to score, and I\u2019m really grateful to the fans. There have been games where I\u2019ve come on, they\u2019re singing my name, and I hadn\u2019t even scored yet. That support drove me on. I\u2019m delighted to finally get off the mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen things aren\u2019t going your way and you still hear them chanting for you at places like QPR and Swansea, it lifts you. Even today they were still behind me. It makes you give that extra 10 percent, especially when they travel long distances. Thank you to everyone \u2014 it means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although there were initial concerns about offside, replays indicated Hull defender Ryan Giles was playing Akpom onside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just stared at the linesman and prayed,\u201d he joked. \u201cI saw the referee go over and thought, \u2018Oh no, please.\u2019 I\u2019m glad it stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re not scoring, you start overthinking. That\u2019s not like me \u2014 I love putting the ball in the net. I had to stay patient and I\u2019m relieved it went in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akpom believes the goals will continue as long as he maintains his work rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I keep doing the right things, working hard, and playing for the team, they\u2019ll come. We\u2019ve got other new players who\u2019ll get their first goals soon too. For us to be successful, everyone has to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former Hull loanee has mainly been used as a No.10 under Kieran McKenna but was brought on as a central striker to replace George Hirst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat role isn\u2019t new to me,\u201d he explained. \u201cI\u2019ve played as a No.9 for most of my career. I\u2019ll play wherever I\u2019m needed. As a nine, you\u2019re closer to goal. Wherever the manager puts me, I\u2019ll give 100%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ipswich\u2019s win in Humberside marked their third straight away victory and extended their unbeaten run to six games. The result moved them into fourth place in the Championship, still with a game in hand, and just three points shy of the automatic promotion spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good position to be in, but it\u2019s early,\u201d Akpom warned. \u201cYou have to be consistent all season. There\u2019s a lot of work ahead and we just need to keep pushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a massive win \u2014 one of the biggest this season. It\u2019s a tough place to come and get points, so I\u2019m happy we did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The opening goal came from Marcelino N\u00fa\u00f1ez, who nodded in Jaden Philogene\u2019s cross for his third goal of the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s a top player,\u201d Akpom said. \u201cHe strikes the ball brilliantly and is such a positive presence in the dressing room. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akpom\u2019s slow start at Portman Road was partly due to missing pre-season training with Ajax. The 30-year-old says he is gradually improving his sharpness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m getting there. Pre-season was difficult \u2014 no excuses \u2014 but it slowed me down. I\u2019m working hard, listening to the manager, trying to do the right things. Hopefully I kick on from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With McKenna keen to rotate his attacking options, Akpom says every player must remain ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not the manager \u2014 I just make sure I\u2019m ready when called on. We basically have two full teams here and even the bench is full of quality. Whenever you get your chance, you have to take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t start complaining if you\u2019re not in the XI \u2014 he might use you the next game. His rotation keeps everyone sharp and eager to impress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite their impressive form, Akpom knows the Championship remains unpredictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re loaded with quality, but this league is ruthless \u2014 anyone can beat anyone. If we show the fight we showed today and add our skill on top, we\u2019ll be a serious threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ipswich now face a quick turnaround, travelling to Oxford United on Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve had back-to-back midweek matches,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough, but we\u2019ve got the squad for it. No excuses \u2014 we\u2019ll go again and give everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“To the fans”- Chuba Akpom deliver a heartfelt message to Ipswich fans after he netted his first goal for the club in the 2-0 victory against Hull City at the MKM Stadium\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[192,472,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-2529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-chuba-akpom","9":"tag-hull-city","10":"tag-ipswich"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/skysports-hull-ipswich_7091970.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legitsportnews.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}