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McCarthy: Little in the Game Until Goal - Ipswich Town News

Boss Mick McCarthy felt there was little in the Blues’ 2-0 defeat at Blackburn until former Town striker Jordan Rhodes netted the opening goal in the 64th minute.

"We were equally as good or equally as bad as the opposition up until the goal going in because it wasn’t a great game, but we were the away side,” McCarthy said.

"I actually thought in the second half we were all right, in the first half I was quite happy with it. We let them off the hook, we just blinked first.

"But that’s an £8 million striker’s goal. It was a good touch from Gestede, it was poor defending from us but there’s poor defending lots of times in games and it’s whether you punish it, and he did, and that’s what you get.”

The Blues manager says he’s aware that fans will continue to talk about Rhodes as the one that got away having been sold before he established himself at Portman Road after coming through the academy.

"I know and West Ham fans talk about Bobby Moore and City fans talk about Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell, it’s just the way it is. It’s just a bit more recent and more raw for them, I guess,” he said.

"He’s a very a good player at this level, there’s no question about that. If he can do it in the Premier League then he’s going to be a top, top striker.

"But I don’t think he’d had a kick really up until that. That’s the difference between winning games and not; when you’ve got a striker who can put one away. And it wasn’t a great chance. He’s hit it from 18 yards but the bounce has just beaten Gerks.”

Coincidentally, the man who sold Rhodes to Huddersfield for a fee which eventually rose to just over £1 million, former Town boss Roy Keane, watched the game in his capacity as the Republic of Ireland assistant manager.

McCarthy was unhappy to let Rudy Gestede score the second from a freekick, but believed the quality of the ball into the box made the goal.

"I’m always disappointed to concede from a set piece but, do you know what, it was a fabulous delivery,” he added. "If you put a ball in like that, it’s difficult to deal with. They’ve got big players.

"Of course, I’ll hold my own post-mortem and recriminations if there are any in private. But it’s a fabulous ball, score off them. If you put balls in there, you score off them.

"That’s what I’m on about, taking your chances. Were our deliveries into the box equally as good? No.”

McCarthy swapped Paul Anderson, who travelled but was left out of the 18, and Stephen Hunt, who was on the bench, for Anthony Wordsworth and Frank Nouble, who had impressed him during recent games.

"Frank’s ripped it up and changed the game for us on a couple of occasions and Woody I thought was excellent in his two games,” the Town boss explained.

"I just wanted to change it and, to be fair, I thought they both, certainly Woody, played well. I took him off to put fresh legs on. Big Frank didn’t have the same impact but you can’t do it every week.

"Frank wasn’t playing as a winger,” he continued, outlining the system with which he started. "We were playing 4-3-3, so he wasn’t really playing as a winger. We were playing with three strikers, Woody was the other one but he was kind of helping out Chambo on that [right-hand] side.”

McCarthy will now look for his side to get back to form at Huddersfield on Tuesday: "It’s always important to bounce back because you don’t want to get beaten in two games on the bounce.

"But as games are running out, it’s not going to be easy. I think Huddersfield lost to Bolton today but they’re a decent side, it’ll be a hard game.

"We’ve got to travel back, travel back up again, that doesn’t help. Neither does staying up here for three or four nights. It’s just a difficult set of fixtures.

"When was the goal scored? In the 64th minute? There was nothing in the game, I think they were just getting a bit frustrated with the game, to be honest.

"We’ve got to come back and do it again. Six games to play, see how many points we can get. We’re not in the best place to get in the play-offs. Reading are in that and it’s up to them, they’ve got to win it or lose it, it’s theirs to lose now.”

Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer was delighted with the victory after four successive draws.

"We always knew it was going to be very difficult against Ipswich and Mick McCarthy’s team. They never stop. A clean sheet and the two strikers scoring is very pleasing for us," he said.

"I thought it was an outstanding goal, it was a good through ball from Rudy Gestede and Jordan Rhodes has taken it with his left foot and it’s a fantastic finish. It’s difficult to find more words to say about him other than 'phenomenal' or 'outstanding'.

"I thought the whole team worked ever so hard and on the back of the game on Tuesday the effort from everyone was superb.

"[For the second goal] the delivery came from Craig Conway and the big man [Gestede] was there. We needed that second goal because Ipswich don’t let off.”

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