x

Keane: We Should Have Won Despite First Half Horror - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Roy Keane felt the Blues ought to have ended up beating Scunthorpe, despite a dreadful first half display which saw the Iron go in 1-0 up at the break. After Jaime Peters’s equaliser, Jason Scotland was prevented from adding a second by a last ditch Cliff Byrne challenge, Peters had a header cleared off the line by Rob Jones and Darren O’Dea hit the bar.

Keane was thoroughly unimpressed with his team’s first half performance: "We never got going, we were waiting for something to happen and the goal was coming. We couldn’t clear our lines.

"Second half, in terms of the chances, the game should have been dead and buried. We were guilty of missing gilt-edged chances and the madness of it was that we nearly lost it at the end because of a lack of concentration.

"It was a funny old day," he added. "It was a real rollercoaster and in the second half, in terms of the clear-cut chances and the way we broke on them, we should have had the game dead and buried.”

The Blues boss replaced striker Connor Wickham on the half hour, but says there were plenty of others who he could also have subbed: "There were eight or nine players, not just Connor, that I was thinking, ‘when are you going to get going?’.

"You can’t continue that and the goal was no surprise. We were about the make the change anyway and we changed the shape with Luke coming on.

"We changed it again with Jaime coming on at half-time to give us a little bit of spark because there was only going to be one team that was going to win.

"In the second half, we were better, sharper, we were hitting them on the break and we really should have won the game.”

Keane confessed that he probably got his team selection wrong: "Jaime and a lot of other players were unlucky to be left out from the other night, Luke, Colin Healy, Kennedy, these boys did really well. I obviously feel that I didn’t get my own job correct today in terms of the first half.”

Scunthorpe boss Ian Baraclough believed his team deserved all three points: "I’ve seen Ipswich blow teams away this season. Their midfield pair have dominated games and I thought we dominated them. The more I’m talking about it,the more I think that it was two points dropped.

"The lads are in there with their heads down, they’re getting in positions to score and it’s when we stop getting in those positions that I’ll start to panic.

"We created 15 or 16 chances again today and something’s got to change.”

What to read next:

Birmingham Make Last-Gasp New Approach For Akpom
Birmingham City reportedly still haven’t given up hope of signing Ajax forward Chuba Akpom, despite the 29-year-old having been in Suffolk to undergo a medical ahead of a loan move this evening.
Cajuste Set For Town Return
Jens Cajuste is set to travel to back to England to undergo a medical at Town having agreed to return to the Blues for a second season on loan, according to a report in Italy.
Akpom Travelling to Town For Medical
Ajax forward Chuba Akpom is travelling to Town for a medical, the Blues having agreed a season-long loan deal with the Dutch giants earlier this afternoon, gazumping Friday’s opponents Birmingham City, who were closing in on signing the 29-year-old.
O'Shea Confirmed as New Captain
Town have confirmed that Dara O’Shea is the new club captain following the departure of Sam Morsy to Kuwait SC last month.
Cajuste 'Favouring' Town Return But Decision Still to Be Made
Former Blues loanee Jens Cajuste is leaning towards a return to Portman Road rather than any of his other options, according to Sky Sports Italia.
Palmer: We Have to Relish Favourites Tag
Alex Palmer says he is relishing the tag of being Championship title favourites ahead of the Town’s second-tier season getting underway against Birmingham City next Friday.
Turkish Club Rizespor Make Muric Loan Approach
Turkish Süper Lig side Çaykur Rizespor have made a loan approach for Blues keeper Aro Muric, TWTD can confirm.
Town Agree Akpom Terms With Ajax
Town are reported to have agreed a deal with Ajax to sign Chuba Akpom on loan with an option to buy should the Blues win promotion to the Premier League.
Wark Joined By Burley at Portman Road Event to Launch Book
The launch of the new John Wark book He’s Here, He’s There is being celebrated with a prestigious event starring Wark himself and his Town and Scotland teammate George Burley in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite at Portman Road on Thursday 2nd October.
Town Look to Gazump Birmingham's Akpom Deal
Town are reported to have made a late approach to Ajax to try to gazump Birmingham City’s loan move for striker Chuba Akpom.