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Lambert: We Were Relentless in the Second Half - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Paul Lambert felt his team were relentless in the second half as they came from behind to beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 at Portman Road.

Kayden Jackson netted the winner deep in injury time as the Blues scored late for the second game running to claim their first home victory of the season.

"I thought the second half we were relentless,” Lambert said. "I thought the lads that came on were massive.

"I thought the first half we were too passive, we had too much of the ball but without doing anything with it.

"James Norwood had two good chances I thought should have scored and they had one real chance to score and it gave them something to hang on to.

"I’ve been involved in many, many games, even as a player myself, where you come up against opposition where they make it difficult for you and try and hit you on the counter and you have too much of the ball and you need that little bit of a break somewhere to help you.

"I thought the changes we made in the second half were good and the lads came on and did great.

"But I thought we were relentless in the second half, the atmosphere, the emotion of the crowd drove us forward as well. The support, it didn't sound like 18,000 in here, it sounded like a full stadium, it was incredible noise.”

Lambert admitted it was the type of game where the crowd start to get edgy: "Absolutely, you could hear the rumblings in the first half but hopefully they remember the team is young, we’ll lose games at certain moments, at certain times but as long as they can be patient.

"But the support since I’ve been here has been phenomenal. That noise was just incredible.”

Debutant sub Anthony Georgiou made a significant contribution having come off the bench.

"He did, I thank Mauricio Pochettino for letting him come, I saw him playing in the tournament, the Audi Cup, he played left-back for Tottenham and Tottenham were really kind to let us have him.

"[Academy manager] Dean Rastrick, who I know really well, at Tottenham said about the lad and I met him on Saturday before the Peterborough game and thankfully he came and gave us that little bit of a spark. Him Judgey and Kayden came on and did really, really well for us.”

Lambert confirmed he was booked for overcelebrating, according to referee Antony Coggins: "Celebrating. It’s terrible isn’t it? Taking the fun away from the game. It’s rubbish really. It’s poor. If you can’t celebrate in the last minute you’re taking the fun out of football, the emotion.

"The emotion of football is 90 per cent of the game for everybody, for the supporters, for the team, for the dugouts, everybody that’s involved.”

Lambert said at the weekend he would have to rest skipper Luke Chambers at some stage and dismissed the suggestion it was a big decision to make at this point in the campaign.

"No, not a big decision because I’ve only got three centre-halves, as it stands at the minute,” he insisted.

"If we run the risk of one getting injured, we’d only have two to see us through so many games and I have to be fair to everybody else.

"If we play so many games and the other lads are not playing any games it takes them three or four games to get up to speed.

"James Wilson has done great, Luke Woolfenden’s done great, Luke Chambers has done great, and that will happen through the season because I’ve only got three.

"It’s different if Toto Nsiala’s back, I’ll have four centre-halves. It was the right call because we need everybody up to speed, fitness-wise.”

He confirmed Chambers was very much rested rather than dropped: "Absolutely, but I said that at the start of the season because we’re maybe got 60 games.

"And if we have somebody playing 35 games and somebody playing three, the centre-half that plays three, while the one that’s played 35 games is out for seven or eight weeks it’s difficult for them to get them up to speed. There's a logic behind it and it was the right decision.”

Lambert was delighted that Will Keane rejoined the Blues on a one-year deal with an option for a further season earlier today.

"He’s come back down, he loves it that much, I think he must love that marina!” he joked. "It’s great, he’s doing really well. Hopefully he’ll take part in a bit of the [U23s] game on Friday, him and Jon Nolan.

"Hopefully he’ll be playing on Friday because he is a quality striker. Hopefully his fitness, he’s got a lot to prove as he knows, for his own career. For his own career he has to play games.”

Lambert says he and his staff had been monitoring the former loanee’s progress as he recovered from the hamstring operation he underwent at the end of last season.

"We knew exactly where he was, what was happening and where he was fitness levels-wise,” he added.

"We knew we only had Norwood and Jackson as it stands at the minute and Will coming in I think will add something really, really good.

"Norwood scored, that’s him scored two, Jackson scored. But I’m really pleased with the way things are going.”

Lambert had said he wanted three signings with Keane the third, but he says that might not necessarily be the end of his transfer business with the window shutting on September 2nd.

"I’ll wait and see,” he said. "I’ve still got another couple of weeks to see where I think maybe we might need strengthening.

"Luke Garbutt, hopefully won’t be long, Toto won’t be long, Nolan’s definitely just about there. Gwion Edwards has done really well to get back. Judgey, the rust is starting go, he’s starting to come back. The squad’s getting stronger.

"Kane Vincent-Young, I think he’ll train tomorrow, I think he’ll be available. Put it this way, it’s a lot more healthy than it was the week we played Burton, a lot healthier.”

AFC WImbledon manager Wally Downes said: "Very encouraging for us, but it’s important that we don’t become a team that play well and don’t win.

"As long as we rectify the errors and learn from it then I’m sure we’ll be fine.

"We go on to Sunderland now, another great stadium to go to with this young team and I’m sure if we put on another performance like that we’ll be rewarded.”

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