George Burley has criticised his side's defending during the first half of last night's Worthington Cup game against Newcastle United. The Town boss switched around at half-time, however the game was very much lost by then.

Burley said: "There was a 20-minute spell in the first half which cost us the match. We gave the first two goals away very easily by giving the ball away. Our defending was very poor. We changed things around at half-time and it was a matter of trying to get a little pride back which is what we did."

Burley was pleased to see one of his youngsters get on the scoresheet: "I'm very pleased for young Darren Bent to go on and score after we had tightened up at the back."

The Blues' manager cited the number of games his side have played of late as one factor behind the loss, but took nothing away from the home side: "We have had a lot of games recently but all credit to Newcastle they are a very good side and we knew it was going to be tough but really we lost the game in that 20 minute spell."

Newcastle boss Bobby Robson was well-pleased with his side: "The first goal was always going to be important we were really up for the game. We were a bit iffy on Saturday against Derby even though we won. We thought Ipswich maybe a little weary after their Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday games so we needed to get at them. We knew we needed to be aggressive and competitive with tight marking, show bite for the ball, bite in the tackle and play slick early passing. That's what we did and overall it was a superb team performance."

Town meet Newcastle in the League next month and former Town star Kieron Dyer said in last night's programme that he could well be back in the Newcastle side: "It was a pity I was not involved last night but after so long I'm not rushing anything. I've been out since February so we are not pushing it when I'm so close. I've got to be absolutely right before I come back - but I'm not far off. Let's just say I should be back soon, and that it should be this side of Christmas. But I don't want to be more exact than that. The gaffer wants me to play in a reserve match first, but I could also play in a sort of closed-doors practice match."

Dyer is convinced his old club will escape relegation: "Believe me, Ipswich are in a false position. There's a lot of talk about them being involved in a relegation battle this season, but I'm positive they'll push up the table. They will be in the top half at the end of the season."

Dyer missed out at Portman Road last season as Newcastle met Town and if he is fit would make his first appearance at Portman Road since his move to the North-East.

Photo: Action Images

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