Town boss Kieran McKenna felt his team got their just rewards after defeating a stubborn Cambridge United side 3-0 at Portman Road, Kyle Edwards netting twice following fellow sub Tyreece John-Jules’s opener, with all the goals coming in the final 18 minutes.
"A good night’s work, difficult game, as we thought it would be,” McKenna said. "Of course, lots of similarities to last year in terms of their set-up.
"They came to frustrate and defend in numbers and did it very well, very well organised, a very athletic team so it was a challenge.
"We needed to be really patient. Of course, if you don’t get the early goal, which we could have got, it’s a night where you need to find a right balance.
"You have to find the balance between being patient but being aggressive by taking risks but not giving the ball away cheaply and bringing the team onto you.
"And maybe most importantly you need to make sure that your discipline is really good at the other end, you don’t give away set plays, don’t give away too many cheap first and second balls and give them opportunities and momentum in the game, and I thought we did all of those things well.
"I thought we managed to keep the energy positive on the pitch, I thought the energy in the stands was good. I thought the crowd understood the context of the game and the challenge that the players had and stuck with it, and we got our just rewards in the end.”
As during Saturday’s 3-2 home victory over Portsmouth, Town’s subs turned the match after the game had gone through a flat spell.
"I think it reflects well on the culture in the group at the moment,” McKenna reflected. "I think the players all know that the players who start the game have the responsibility to lead the team, especially the attackers lead the attack, play at a really, really high intensity on and off the ball.
"And when teams come to defend in numbers, there’s not always going to be lots of big chances and lots of spaces early in the game, but if we play with that level of intensity, aggression and keep working the defenders then it’s really hard to do that for 90 minutes.
"So the players that come on at times will be the ones who capitalise and have a little bot more space and are up against tired defenders and they might be the ones that get the goals.
"And, of course, it proved that way on Saturday with Tyreece playing up front and putting in a really strong performance on and off the ball and Freddie [Ladapo] comes on and then has the opportunity to score.
"And it worked tonight with Freddie who put in a really good all-round performance, thought he led the line on the ball, I thought his counter pressure was fantastic tonight, which really helped us to sustain the attacks and worked really well for the team.
"And, of course, then the boys who came on have got a tired defence and tired players to go against and that makes it easier to find that little bit of space.
"Credit to the group for that for their mindset and strong culture in terms of trying to support the group and knowing that your role will sometimes will be a starter, sometimes will be a substitute and that those roles have equal importance in the team.”
Quizzed on whether Kyle Edwards meant his first goal, a left-footed cross-shot from the right, McKenna laughed: "He’s saying no comment! I’ll stick with his line.”
Edwards has had a frustrating time since joining the Blues in the summer of 2021, having not been involved during McKenna’s early period as boss, then suffering an injury which sidelined him for the final months of last season.
However, the former West Brom man has hit his straps over the last couple of weeks, making a big impression against Pompey, then adding his first goals for the club this evening.
"Delighted for him, there’s nothing better really in the job that seeing players behind the scenes working really hard at their game, trying to develop themselves mentally and tactically and physically and technically, and having to be patient and then getting the rewards that he’s had in the last period of time,” McKenna continued.
"The players are delighted for him because they see how he’s been working and see his performances in training and the increasing improvement in those and he’s a very popular character in the club and in the stands as well obviously from tonight.
"He gives us something different, has different qualities to the rest of the group and we know he can be an important player for us.
"Happy for him and, of course, it’s another positive step but he’ll be the first to say, I’m sure, that it’s about pushing on now and maintaining that hard work that he’s been putting in and trying to keep gaining momentum in his performances in training and his momentum in games and if he can keep doing that, then hopefully we can see him start to fulfil some of his talent and be a really important player for us.”
Cambridge head coach Mark Bonner wasn’t too downcast despite the defeat.
"I’m only disappointed because we lost but our season isn’t going to be defined by nights like this,” he said.
"Anyone who finishes above Ipswich this season will have done well. They’re a brilliant team flooded with excellent players so it’s no disgrace at all for us.
"I thought we worked our socks off in that game and it’s sounds silly to work so hard and lose 3-0.
"We were awkward and it was really difficult for them to create chances and I thought we did that really well and then in the second half we end up a bit deep and they get lots of numbers round the ball, which made it difficult for us to get out.
"The goals were all a bit unfortunate but they came about as a consequence of the pressure they applied.
"Our organisation and work ethic was very good but you know when you come here you are going to have to make quite a lot out of quite a little.
"We had a few big players missing and we weren’t able to gain control for long enough.
"Ipswich got stronger as the game went on and the clock just didn’t tick fast enough in the second half!”
He added: "I hope this doesn't sound too pessimistic but if we come here 10 times we might win once and I think we used that trump card last season.”