Town boss Paul Lambert felt the Blues should have been “a couple” of goals up at the break after an “excellent” first-half display before ultimately falling to a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.

Chris Maguire’s 81st-minute goal saw the Black Cats to victory over Town, who are down to seventh and out of the top six for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half, we should have been a couple up,” Lambert said. “That would have given us a foothold in the game.

“But I thought we played really, really well in the first half. Sunderland came back strongly, which you would expect, in the second half.

“We rode our luck [when Sunderland hit] the crossbar, we had one or two chances in the second half and I thought we should have had a penalty because Emyr Huws won that header. Anywhere on the pitch I think that’s a freekick, so that didn’t go our way.

“Sunderland had a good game in the second half but I thought in the first half we were very, very good.”

Lambert’s big frustration was not turning that first-half display into goals: “We should have, we had chances to do it. We had really great areas to really hurt them and [the goals] never materialised.

“Maybe we have to hunt other teams now rather than the other way around. We have to hunt teams, for the first time we’re out of the top six this season, sometimes that can help you, at certain times. You have to go on a run, we have to go on a run.

“As I said before, it’s not a league like the Premier League where Liverpool are so far ahead it looks like you’ll never catch them. There are still a lot of teams in this division who can catch up.”

Reflecting further on whether Town being out of the top six and now among the hunters rather than the hunted in the automatic promotion and play-off places, he added: “The pressure’s off to that extent. But if we play like that, we’re certainly going to win a lot more games than we lose.

“Football-wise, I was really happy with how we dominated the game. We had so much control of the game in the first half. But you’ve got to score when you have those chances and we never managed to score.”

Why, not for the first time this season, was there such a disparity between the performances in the first and second halves?

“You’ve got to give Sunderland credit,” Lambert continued. “What do want, Sunderland to let us play 90 minutes like that? No chance. There are two teams there. They’re a good side, they’ve got a great fanbase behind them, a big noise, you expect them to come and have a go at you.

“Football-wise, we rode our luck in the second half but we also had one or two chances in that second half when we should have pulled the trigger and not tried to walk it into the net.

“But the football we played in the first half, we should have been comfortable in the first half.”

Lambert felt the display was significantly better than the performances in the previous defeats at Rotherham and at home to Peterborough last weekend.

“That wouldn’t have been hard that,” he admitted. “The control we had today was really pleasing, that was good. But at the top end of the pitch is where you earn your corn and we just didn’t manage to score.”

Town have hardly been free-scoring this season but Lambert says the lack of goals hasn’t been an ongoing concern.

“No, we were winning games, it doesn’t matter whether you’re winning 1-0 or 2-0, we were winning games,” he added.

“As I said, now we become the hunter, now we have to hunt teams down and see if they can handle being in there. There’s a long, long way to go, 14 games to go. We have to start to win.”

Janoi Donacien was subbed in the second half but Lambert is hopeful the right-back hasn’t suffered an injury.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t know if it was cramp in his calf at the minute, so if that’s all it is then hopefully he’ll be OK for Tuesday.”

Regarding Emyr Huws, who started on the bench, he added: “Emyr had that ankle knock, he only started to train on Wednesday, I think.

“And Jon Nolan had recovered from his heel thing and I thought he did well for his first game in a number of weeks. As I said before, the first half, the control was really, really good.”

Lambert says he made his decision on which of his keepers to field close to the game: “I never decided right up until the last minute who I was going to go with.

“As I said before, Will Norris has done great and I was never going to chastise him for a mistake that everybody makes. He’s a top goalkeeper.

“Tomas Holy I felt had bided his time and I thought he did well today. He had nothing really to do, so Tomas is in there at the minute.”

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson felt his team had to dig deep to win the match against a Town side which impressed him.

“A good team Ipswich, we knew they’d come with some response to the heavy defeat at home last week and they certainly did, they started quick,” he said.

“We were a bit slow to get into our stride. I think we were a bit slow with our build-up play in the first half.

“We grew into the first half, I felt. At half-time we spoke and said we needed to speed the game up and get Ipswich on the back foot, step onto them all over the pitch, play with a bit more forward momentum.

“And when we did that you felt there was only one winner. We’d hit the bar, we’d hit the post, we’d had other good chances, but eventually the goal came. I felt it was a deserved victory against a very good team.”

Regarding the winning goal, he added: “It was a tremendous finish from Chris, he has got that calmness and quality you need to separate tight games and I was pleased that the chance felled to him because he is clinical in those situations.”

Photo: TWTD

Doctor_Earman added 20:37 - Feb 8 Me and my mates were playing a game of Paul Lambert bingo during his interview. He never disappoints.
0

RegencyBlue added 20:43 - Feb 8 What we should have done is irrelevant! What we did was lose, again.
6

Blue_Meanie added 20:45 - Feb 8 He has a sideline selling snake oil. Roll up roll up. Well come on,Mr Evans brought it, hook line and sinker again.
3

Rodrigo91 added 20:51 - Feb 8 When will everyone learn! What right do we have to be up there in the league! We have a poor squad our best player is on loan from Everton! Our squad is over rated! Theres a reason we got relegated last year and it's because we are rubbish! It all comes from Paul hurst, most fans were happy with appointing him, I never wanted us to appoint him Manager. He wasted all the funds he had on league 2 crap! Yes lambert isn't doing great atm and I don't like our tactics (mainly our formation) but would another manager make these already crap players any better?

3

blueboy1981 added 20:53 - Feb 8 He doesn't care - and he doesn't have to now. Only fools think otherwise - coasting now, and he knows it. 95% of the people who follow / support this Club are astonished at the absurdity of his 5 year contract - and now seriously question his ability to deliver. The other 5% will accept whatever, just as long as Saturdays come round, a ball is kicked at Portman Road, a pint, and or a Pie is on hand - then all is well. Thankfully the balance is the way it is.

3

londontractorboy57 added 20:53 - Feb 8 Mr Lambert how fickle the great ITFC fans that you are always praising are still as is the case of Bluebore, coached to a reasonable level why not give him and his pals a ring for some advice.
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MurcianITCC added 21:00 - Feb 8 Since, I see no other leaders in our group of players. Answers ? Maybe it's time to throw caution to the wind and back our talented ( but possibly lightweight) younger players? Dozzell clearly has talent and I'm very impressed ( by the little I've seen admittedly) with Dobra. Honestly I don't know the answer, I don't pretend to. Is there a better leader in our squad? I don't think so. It's easy to jump on the Lambert/Evans out bandwagon but what will that achieve? With Evans gone we, as a business, are bankrupt no ? ( I'm not saying I don't wish to see a more progressive, forward thinking owner before anyone calls me out). Lambert, like those before him, is working with his hands tied. While the academy staff are producing promising youngsters I do question our scouting system. I circle seems vicious in it's downward spiral and it is worrying. Just my ramblings....

1

positivity added 21:01 - Feb 8 16 games to go, 10 at home, 14 against teams below us, need to get behind them now. all's not lost yet!
2

blueboy1981 added 21:01 - Feb 8 Could have, should have, would have - what happened to did have ? - and in doing so actually scored some goals for a change.
2

positivity added 21:02 - Feb 8 sorry, 14 to go!!
0

r2d2 added 21:08 - Feb 8 5 more years of listening to this idiot. Evans you are a right muppet.
3

ITFCsince73 added 21:27 - Feb 8 Your very right Murcian. Can I see another leader in the pack? No Maybe not. But to late for this season now any way. This should have been addressed a few years back. At this moment in time, promotion is unlikely. And because of awarding contract extension issues at the club, We look to be going with the same set up next season. That hasn't worked for seven seasons previous.

1

nick8 added 21:29 - Feb 8 LAMBERT OUT NOW
4

Tractorboy1985 added 21:33 - Feb 8 If anyone wants a season ticket for the remaining games... Sir Bobby Robson stand Row G seat 66... I am done with this football club! Let me know when you pathetic happy clappy Evans support numbskulls want a protest and I'll quite happily attend Portman road again... until then... I'm done! Call me a Budgie or whatever you like... I'm a realist.. and whilst this corrupt tax dodging a$$hole is at the helm of ITFC give it magilton to Jewell to Keane to mc carthy to lambert... this club is only going one way! And that is DOWN!!! WAKE UP YOU NUMBSKULLS!!!! PROTEST NEEDED!!! SUPPORT AND INVEST EVANS OR F OFF!!!!!!!

4

tractorollson added 21:34 - Feb 8 Please just go now Lambert and let Butch give us some pride back, youre out of your depth and youre a laughing stock!
4

dirtydingusmagee added 21:36 - Feb 8 Lambert JUST COFF ,JUST COFF sick of your ramblings you are full of ****
2

ITFCsince73 added 22:47 - Feb 8 Glad you finally agree Londontractor. Mick Ma was as useless as the rest. Not some miracle worker.
3

Carberry added 23:17 - Feb 8 So many positives for PR Paul. Well done, really, really good work from the manager.
0

eddiespearitt03 added 01:59 - Feb 9 Running out of excuses. Yes, we should of scored some goals and we didn,t. We lost again.
0

harlingblue added 05:40 - Feb 9 MM kept us in The Championship with shrewd loan signings, and a scouting system that found very promising players, without them our team was never good enough. Every time a gem was unearthed, given time in the team, they were then sold, for in some cases £millions, to be replaced by poorer Managers, poorer players, a stadium that could do with a good scrub. I have not been a ME knocker before, as I am grateful that he came in to keep our Club afloat, but having his fingers burnt during the early years, surely he can see that he has no clue about football, and who should Manage OUR CLUB?

0

tractorboy2421 added 07:09 - Feb 9 Same old, same old... If only he was as good at managing a team as he is at talking utter B/S we'd be flying by now.
2

Dissboyitfc added 07:51 - Feb 9 False dawn after false dawn, supporting town is a tiresome passion and has been for so many years now! The problem is, and it's not through lack of effort but our strikers just are not good enough in front of goal! Goals should come from all areas of the pitch and to degree this has been the case, Garbutt has 6 with the odd 1 or 2 from others. Lack of goals is our main weakness, if we continue with only being able to produce 1 good half per game then we need to make those halves in which we dominate count! Feel really that we are on a slide down now. I wonder if Pl feels himself that postponing those games was still a good idea, after all we were on a run, all be it a lucky run but a run none the less! Come May we will be looking back at what should have been. We always do, then we go again with another false dawn, hoping for something better but never quite really believing and so it goes on. The sadness continues.....

5

tractorboybig added 08:39 - Feb 9 son with your selections we can only ever dream of being a couple up. the defeat is down to you with also a couple of crap sustitutions.
1

senduntd added 09:09 - Feb 9 Do you think a new manager will score goals for us? Its players who score not the manager. We bought a goal scorer named Norwood who all these posters screamed for, there is no accounting for form and confidence, would anoter one be any better? Freddie is our best bet, lets give him a try. We know he will always give us 100%
0

bobble added 09:17 - Feb 9 losing 1-0 to sunderland away is still poor result for IPSWICH TOWN FC....
2

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