x

Joe: Penalty Harsh - Ipswich Town News

Boss Joe Royle felt his side thoroughly deserved their 2-1 victory over Burnley. However, the Town manager admitted that the award of the 80th minute penalty which led to the winning goal was harsh.

Royle said: "I don't think anyone can disagree that we deserved to win. We had 24 shots, some of them high wide and glorious, but there were two that counted.

"Burnley defended well, John McGreal was excellent, and I warned my lads that it would be a hard game against stubborn opponents.

"Five weeks ago, our fans thought we were going to be relegated, so it's great to see this revival."

Royle wasn't convinced that Michael Duff's challenge on Alan Lee with 10 minutes left on the clock was worth a spotkick: "It looked soft. The challenge looked minimal. It was perhaps less of a penalty than a handball incident in the first half.

"Maybe these things level out because we conceded a penalty like that against Leeds."

Recent £100,000 signing Lee was singled out by his manager: "He has not had a bad game, or even a bad half, since he joined us.

"He is deceptively fast and when we find the right partner, and all the possibilities are injured at the moment, I'm sure we will see even more from him.

"He has come here after a difficult time at Cardiff and immediately settled in. You take a chance with what you know and what you see in the transfer market and it's nice when it comes off.

"But for a horrendous run of injuries, I think we would have been in or around the play-off places already."

Burnley boss Steve Cotterill was convinced his side deserved more from the game: "It was very disappointing to be beaten by a penalty that, in my opinion from where I sat, wasn't a penalty. That decided the game.

"Michael Duff said that Alan Lee told him it wasn't a foul as they came off the field.

"We went ahead with a great finish from Michael Ricketts, but then conceded two bad goals. If we had cleared the ball, as we should have done, the penalty issue would not have happened.

"Ipswich have some good young players and their crowd support is fantastic. They were on Brian Jensen's back from start to finish."

Cotterill said he wasn't sure why Michael Ricketts was booked for celebrating his goal in front of the North Stand and was unimpressed with Wayne Thomas's sending off: "He told me he never said anything to the referee for his second yellow card, although he had a silly booking for his first one. It will be interesting to see what appears on the referee's report.

"We have had a lot of changes at our club. Every time we find someone who scores goals, we sell him. It is fantastic to be like Ipswich and be able to dip into the academy to bring players through."

What to read next:

Town Visit Swansea Aiming For Repeat of QPR Clinical Finishing
Town visit Swansea City on Saturday afternoon targeting back-to-back away victories following the 4-1 win at QPR a week ago and with manager Kieran McKenna looking for his side to repeat the clinical finishing from their visit to Loftus Road.
Hallgrimsson: No Reason to Doubt Szmodics's Commitment
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says he has no doubts regarding Blues forward Sammie Szmodics’s commitment to the Boys in Green, despite press and social media criticism after the 30-year-old was forced out of the squad for a third time this year ahead of the October internationals.
[Podcast] Life's a Pitch TV - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Life's a Pitch TV team is now available.
McKenna: Players From the U21s Training With Us Regularly
Blues manager Kieran McKenna has been impressed by Town’s U21s, who currently top Premier League 2, and says some members of the group have been training with his squad on a regular basis.
[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
McKenna: Mixed Start, But Table Will Change a Lot
Blues manager Kieran McKenna admits he would have liked his side to have had more points at this stage, with the season going into its third international break following Saturday’s trip to Swansea, but isn’t taking too much notice of a Championship table which he believes will change a lot over the weeks and months to come.
McKenna: Disappointed to Lose Burgess
Blues manager Kieran McKenna admits he was disappointed to lose centre-half Cameron Burgess in the summer, the Australian international having left Portman Road after four very successful years to join Saturday’s opponents Swansea City.
McKenna: Absolutely Loads More to Come From Walle Egeli
Town boss Kieran McKenna says he’s not surprised by how well 19-year-old Norwegian Sindre Walle Egeli has settled into English football but believes there’s “absolutely loads” to come from the forward.
McKenna: Matusiwa-Philogene Spat Put to Bed
Blues boss Kieran McKenna says the on-pitch argument between Azor Matusiwa and Jaden Philogene during the second half of Tuesday’s 1-1 home draw with Watford has been “put to bed” and has praised the start the Dutchman has made to his Town career.
McKenna: Davis Touch and Go For Swansea Trip
Town boss Kieran McKenna says left-back Leif Davis is touch and go for Saturday’s game at Swansea City but has no new injuries, while Wes Burns is getting closer to a return.