x

Jewell: We Never Looked Like Scoring - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Paul Jewell admitted that his side never looked like scoring at one end and gave away silly goals at the other as they lost 3-0 at home to Watford. The Blues manager again bemoaned his side’s lack of penetration.

Jewell said: "I think at the end of the day we gave goals away for fun, silly goals. In between the boxes, I think we probably had more possession than them, but did you think we were really going to score a goal?

"How many crosses did we have flashing across the box? How many freekicks did we have? How many corners? We just haven’t got anyone who wants to get on the end of them, it’s as simple as that.

"You can dress it up which ever way you want. You can dress it up any way you want. We had plenty of possession.

"The second goal summed us up. Pretty passes, then we get brushed off the ball in midfield and the next thing we’re picking the ball out of the back of the net. We’re not ruthless in either box, it’s a simple as that.”

The Blues boss felt the early Watford goal was comical series of errors: "We tell the players to make sure when the ball goes out of play to come alive. It was a silly corner we gave away, the next thing, there’s two-v-one and it was a catalogue of errors.

"From there we were always playing catch-up. We did all right, we had freekicks and hit the post but when it comes out off the post I don’t think anyone was going to stick their head in and get a cut eye.”

Jewell says there’s much to be done before he gets the side he wants: "You can see we lack a bit of pace in the team, even going forward we can’t get beyond players and behind teams, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.

"Against Portsmouth we opened them up for fun but we couldn’t score. But tonight, I was looking at the game at 2-0 down with 15 minutes to go and do I really think we’re going to get back in the game? And the answer is no. That’s eight or nine home games we’ve lost now this season, which tells its own story.”

Watford boss Malky Mackay was delighted with the result and with the early goal: "We started off very well, we highlighted the fact that if we got a short corner we might be able to get the two-v-one.

"We put a great ball in and it starts us off with a great platform and allows us to suck Ipswich on to us and catch them on the counter, which we did well.”

The former Canary inevitably had praise for striker Danny Graham and said there was a row in the dressing room about who scored the first goal: "There’s a big debate down there as to whether that first goal was his or Troy’s. They’re both claiming it!

"I think tonight you could see why Danny is what he is - he’s a total team player. He’ll run a back four down on his own.

"He’s a threat in behind and he’s a threat when he comes short. I think he had an awful lot to do on the second goal and it was a quality finish.

"But the measure of the boy is that he’s a team player and that’s the centre forward that you want in your team - someone who’s not just a poacher but is a team player, and he’s certainly one of those.”

What to read next:

Wright: It's a Nice Pressure, Something We Should Enjoy
Ipswich Town Women play their now annual Portman Road fixture on Saturday afternoon when Southampton visit for a WSL2 fixture (KO 12.30pm, live on YouTube).
Town Women's Duo in Scotland U23s Squad
Town Women’s duo Megan Wearing and Kenzie Weir have been named in the Scotland U23s squad for games in Spain next month.
Taylor and Turner Join Woking On Loan
Blues U21s duo Tommy Taylor and Steven Turner have joined National League Woking on loan for the rest of the season.
Walle Egeli and Baggott Among Those Set For Caps
Sindre Walle Egeli and Elkan Baggott are among the Town players set for international action today.
Szmodics Spends Night in Hospital
On-loan Blues forward Sammie Szmodics spent the night in hospital in Prague having been stretchered off following a clash of heads in the Republic of Ireland’s on-penalties World Cup play-off defeat to Czechia last night.
Irish Blues Out of World Cup on Penalties
Town’s Irish international contingent will not be going to this summer’s World Cup after they were beaten 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra-time by Czechia in their play-off semi-final in Prague, while Anis Mehmeti’s Albania also crashed out, but on-loan keeper Aro Muric’s Kosovo are now only one game away from qualifying.
Blues Draw Friendly With West Ham
A Town team drew 0-0 with West Ham United in a behind-closed-doors friendly this afternoon.
[Podcast] Life's a Pitch TV - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Life's a Pitch TV team is now available.
Farage Had Lunch With Ashton and Werhun
Town chairman and CEO Mark Ashton and chief operating officer Luke Werhun met with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for lunch during his Monday visit to Portman Road, it has emerged.
Taylor: Subs Bring Freshness and Energy
Town midfielder Jack Taylor believes the introduction of five substitutes has allowed the Blues to be more aggressive in their approach.