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McGoldrick Revelling in Striking Role Alongside Sears
Thursday, 27th Apr 2017 19:51

David McGoldrick has admitted he is revelling in his role as a striker alongside Freddie Sears as Town prepare to face play-off chasing Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in their final home game of the current campaign.

The pair have claimed six goals between them in Town’s last five games, McGoldrick being rested and Sears only coming off the bench five minutes from the end of last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at rock-bottom Rotherham as boss Mick McCarthy rang the changes in order to allow several fringe players a rare outing.

McGoldrick said: “I like playing with Freddie. He loves running in behind and when I get the ball to my feet that’s always an option for me. Freddie can cause problems — you can play it to his feet, he has a good touch and a good brain, even if he doesn’t act like it off the pitch sometimes!

“He’s a good player and he scores goals. He had a little drought when he didn’t score for a bit but his work-rate and ethic is always top-class and now he is going back to the Freddie he was when he first came here.

“When he’s one-on-one with the keeper you expect him to score and he’s doing that, so long may it continue.”

McGoldrick also believes he is benefiting from being cast a striker in McCarthy’s starting line-up and agreed that on occasions in the past he was perhaps guilty of dropping too deep into the wrong areas.

“I think that’s been the case sometimes,” he admitted. “I think a lot of the lads want me to create, as well as score, but I don’t think you can do both. I think sometimes I suffer from dropping deep and trying to make things happen.

“When things aren’t going too well and you are losing you want to get the game by the scruff of the neck and be the man who goes and makes things happen.

“But maybe that means I am dropping too deep and I’m not in the box when I should be.

“I think I’ve sacrificed that in the past couple of games. I’ve just been playing as a striker and I’ve been getting my rewards from it.

“We’re scoring goals and we’ve been winning so I don’t think I’ll be dropping back any time soon.”

McGoldrick has hit plenty of spectacular, long-range goals in his time at Portman Road but his most recent one was completely different — a simple tap-in at the back post after partner Sears found him with a pass as Town carved open the Newcastle defence in a 3-1 Easter Monday success.

He added: “At the end of the day a goal’s a goal but I maybe took my eye off that a little bit and got drawn to being the creator and the scorer. I don’t think you can do both — unless you’re Messi!

“I’ve tried to stop coming back and trying to be the number 10, for example. Wardy’s playing really, really well and doing that at the minute.

“I’ve been getting my rewards from staying up front, and scored a couple of tap-ins. I got the one against Wigan as well — that was in the box — and I want more goals like that.

“I’m not bothered if they are 30-yarders or two-yarders — all that matters is that it’s my name on the scoresheet.”

McGoldrick paid tribute to his midfield colleagues, adding: “When the midfielders have the ball you want them to make forward passes. With the likes of Emyr [Huws], Skusey [Cole Skuse] and Wardy [Grant Ward] in the middle I know that if I make a run they can probably find me and that helps.

“If Lozzer [Tom Lawrence] is playing he’s got a good through ball or long ball on him as well.

“Searsy and me want to play off the shoulders of defenders, making it hard for them because no defender likes to be running back towards their own goal.

“We’ve been doing that and it’s been working — so we’re going to continue doing it!”


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ArnieM added 22:07 - Apr 27
Round pegs in round holes - amazing how much better the team plays innit!
5

madmouse1959 added 23:16 - Apr 27
Here comes all the grand statements of how great it is playing for Ipswich after an abysmal season of poor football .
-5

leahcar88 added 00:27 - Apr 28
Sorry Arnie m
2

Razor added 10:14 - Apr 28
It must be the end of the season-----lets not forget the previous 9 months as if they did not happen!
0

essextractorboy93 added 10:17 - Apr 28
Really good to see Sears back scoring and he clearly has a lot more confidence now, he has been feeding off scraps for a lot of this season. He and McGoldrick are very different players but seem to be forming a good partnership.
1

londonben added 13:33 - Apr 28
I think a really telling thing about the tap in goal against Newcastle was that Sears actually squared it to him. In previous games Sears was so desperate for a goal he's been shooting from ridiculous angles, but that pass for a tap in was the sign of a pair of strikers who are growing in confidence and learning to play together. The combination of Sears pace and Didzy's skill can terrify any defence...hope they get a good run together next season with a settled midfield behind them! Signing Huws must be Mick's #1 priority this summer, surely.
3

Sam added 17:07 - Apr 28
It's great to see them both scoring goals. Hopefully this partnership will continue to next season.
0


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