Joe: Christmas Came Early - Ipswich Town News
Town manager Joe Royle bemoaned two gift-wrapped goals presented to Gillingham by his defence after Town lost 4-3 at home to Andy Hessenthaler's Gills.
Royle said: "Gillingham must have thought Christmas had come early. They have not been prolific scorers but two of their goals were gift-wrapped.
"I didn't trust our defence from the first minute. It was hard to name a single defender who showed his best form.
"When you concede four goals at home you can hardly complain about losing.
"Yet when we pulled back to 3-3 in the 73rd minute I fancied us to win. We didn't get a goal when we needed it but we missed chances and balls were cleared off the line."
Hessenthaler felt his team felt his team's recent form warranted the result: "It was an unbelievable game but it's been coming for us. We have been playing well in recent weeks but losing.
"When they pulled back to 3-3 I thought we were going to lose again. I'd have settled for a point. We were trying to waste time but ended up scoring the winning goal.
"It was our best performance of the season without a doubt. Now we must keep doing it.
"The spirit we showed was not unusual for us but this time we had a bit of luck. Late on I took off Tommy Johnson so I could put five in midfield and it worked for us."
What to read next:
Edwards: A Great Tear-UpMiddlesbrough boss Rob Edwards was proud of his team following their 2-1 victory over the Blues in a game he described as “a great tear-up”.
O'Shea: That's Not Our DNATown captain Dara O’Shea expressed his frustration at an uncharacteristic performance as the Blues were beaten 2-1 by Middlesbrough at the Riverside.
Middlesbrough 2-1 Ipswich Town - Match ReportTown fell to their second defeat of the season as they were beaten 2-1 by Middlesbrough at the Riverside to send the home side back to the top of the Championship. Cedric Kipre’s own goal in first-half injury time gave Boro the lead, George Hirst having seen a penalty saved moments earlier, before Morgan Whittaker added a second 10 minutes into the second half, prior to Dara O’Shea pulling one back for the Blues on 76, but Town were unable to find a second goal.
Middlesbrough 1-0 Ipswich Town - Half-TimeCedric Kipre’s own goal just before the break has given Middlesbrough a 1-0 half-time lead over the Blues at the Riverside, George Hirst having seen a penalty saved shortly beforehand.
Town Unchanged at BoroTown boss Kieran McKenna has named an unchanged side for this evening’s live Sky game against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.