Assistant manager Stuart Taylor felt a draw would have been a fairer result from the Blues' 2-1 defeat to Peterborough United at London Road.

Taylor, again standing in for manager Paul Lambert whose relationship with the local media has deteriorated over recent months, said the Blues looked to take the match to the home side.

“Obviously we’re disappointed we didn’t come away with the win that we were looking for,” he said. “The way we set out in the game was to go an be aggressive and be positive and go and attack them, not to come here and sit off against them and give them too much respect in terms of that.

“We know they’re one of the best attacking teams in the league, so it was important that we tried to flip it around the other way and try and attack them. We also knew it was going to be a second ball game, it was going to be back to front.

“Our start was what we were looking for, we went a goal ahead and everything was fine in that sense, but obviously late on in the first half, one cross too many went into the box and we didn’t deal with the cross that came in and we lost the goal. Really disappointed with that.

“Second goal, disappointed that we gave away a free-kick at the edge of the box, a fantastic finish and disappointed not to come out of anything from the game.”

Asked whether he felt Peterborough grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck by starting the second half very much on the front foot, Taylor said: “I think it’s just the way the game started in terms of they obviously had the kick-off, they’ve lumped it on top of us, so we’ve then got to go and win the ball back.

“They were in possession, hence the reason they went on the attack. So we’d just got to go and deal with that and try and defend it.”

Troy Parrott and Josh Harrop had shots stopped by Posh keeper Christy Pym in the penultimate minute and Taylor thought the draw a late goal would have brought would have been a fair result.

“I think so,” he reflected. “I don’t think there was much in the game at all. We had a good chance at the end, Troy Parrott, what an unbelievable save from the goalkeeper, just unfortunate it didn’t go in the back of the net for us, but I think a draw would have been a fair result.”

Town made four changes which Taylor says was due to the state of the London Road surface: “I think it was being sensible in terms of the type of pitch that it was.

“We knew it was going to come back to front and we knew it was going to be lumped right on top of us. We knew they weren’t going to try and play because of the conditions. We went for a big, tall and experienced back four.

“Also on top of that, young Luke [Matheson] hasn’t played too much, so to ask him to play Saturday-Tuesday would have been too much for him.

“We went for a big, experienced back four to go and deal with it, which they did do for he majority of the game.

“Bringing [James] Norwood in as well to go two up front to try and turn it around the other way, rather than come here as an away performance and sit off them, we tried to go after them.

“That worked, in the first couple of minutes we got our goal, we started the game well, they got back into the game as the first half ended but certainly we still had chances in the first half.

“Second half, after they scored, I thought we turned the game around again and we finished the game off strongly.”

Norwood was subbed at half-time having suffered a knock earlier in the half but Taylor says the striker’s withdrawal was precautionary as he continues to work his way back to full match fitness following his recent hamstring problems.

“He’s probably where he is at this moment in time is 45 minutes or 60 minutes in a game,” he said. “In those conditions, that comes down to 45.

“We didn’t want to take the chance. We’ve not taken a chance previously but he has broken down, so we’re in a situation where we really want to be careful and build him.

“We’ve got just under half a season left, so there are loads and loads of games left, we just really need to make sure that we keep him fit for the remainder of the games.”

Town once again fell short against one of the division’s top sides. Against the current top seven, the Blues have now lost all nine of their fixtures.

“Of course you need to win games, it doesn’t matter if it’s against the top of the league or the bottom of the league, you need to win games to finish in one of the top spots, no doubt about that,” Taylor said when asked about that record and the need for Town to start beating teams in the upper reaches of the division if they’re to be in the running for promotion.

“But they’re one of the best attacking line-ups and I thought for the majority of the game we did well against them, but obviously a ball in the box, it’s a good finish for the first goal and a good quality finish for the second goal.

“There are positives in the game, I’m disappointed we didn’t win the game, disappointed we didn’t get a draw out of the game, which would have been a fair enough result.

“But I thought Troy did fantastically again and he nearly got himself a goal at the end, if it hadn’t been for that great save.”

Posh boss Darren Ferguson felt his side thoroughly deserved their victory.

“We were very good tonight,” Ferguson told the Peterborough Telegraph. “I don’t think anyone from Ipswich would deny we deserved to win.

“We started slowly and conceded a sloppy goal and it took us 15 minutes to get going, but once we started getting the ball out wide we really dominated the game.

“We actually prepared for a different formation than the one they used, but they played a diamond and I know how to hurt that.

“We wanted to exploit them by switching the play and using width. We did it very well in the first half and eventually equalised from an excellent cross and a very good header back across the goalkeeper from Jonno [Jonson Clarke-Harris].

“We started the second half well even though they changed their shape. Joe [Ward] scored a brilliant goal and we had other chances to score. We should have had a penalty for a blatant handball, but we failed to kill them off which was disappointing.

“You’re never over-comfortable at 2-1 and Christy Pym has pulled out a big save to stop them equalising late on from the only chance I can remember them mustering.

“We should have won by more, but it’s a thoroughly deserved three points and full credit to the lads.”

Photo: TWTD

dyersdream added 10:53 - Feb 10 get lost taylor your as useless as lambert and also get rid of chambers and ward both past it !
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Broganonthewing added 11:35 - Feb 10 I cannot see anyway out of this? Evans owns the club and I am sure he desperately wants to sell it? Who would buy it? There are no assets. The ground is owned by the council and Evans owns the training ground personally I understand? The only other asset is the players - well after the last two seasons, I think liabilities would be more apt! I think one also has to factor in the current pandemic, Evans must be suffering greatly as his main business is corporate entertainment and there hasn't been much of that in the past year. To summarize, Evans owns a large field on the edge of Ipswich which is only o fany use if he could obtain planning permission to build houses. His businesses are probably hemorrhioring money at a vast rate in particular his football club! Sorry folks but far smarter guys than me would struggle to find a happy solution

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dirtydingusmagee added 12:23 - Feb 10 Lambert and Evans should be impeached, !
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Cheshire_Blue added 12:34 - Feb 10 All the ranting and raving against Paul Lambert will not solve the problem. The reason he is in charge is because McCarthy was hounded out and who is responsible for that ? What are the odds on McCarthy getting Cardiff promoted back to the Premier League ? You reap what you sow. You were warned 'Be careful what you wish for' You now have it.
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Bazza8564 added 12:40 - Feb 10 Hmm. For me this was one of the seasons worst performances. To say we deserved a draw gives Donald Trump hope. Saturday was good, i'm thinking, we can go on a run here, Matheson looks bright, Kenlock maturing into a good player, great to have Edwards back, we've missed him. And then I read the team sheet...... And after the game i saw comments like Holy kept us in it. Aah! Holy made 3 decent parries with balls at an easy height yes, but that's routine. He's 6 foot loads and the first goal was a cross Laurie Sivell would have come after. The second he didn't see because his wall was so badly lined up it didn't cover the near post but it did block his view. So two avoidable goals. I thought Flyn Downes was excellent, i would struggle to give anybody else more than a 3/10. I will be watching Saturdays Team sheet before I buy my pass, if it doesn't start with Cornell, Matheson Kenlock i might not bother

2

62WasBest added 12:45 - Feb 10 A desperate man clutching at straws.
1

groundhog added 12:58 - Feb 10 looks like the cold weather has killed off the green shoots
1

LWNR2013 added 13:10 - Feb 10 To deserve a draw you need to score the same number of goals as the opposition. To win you have to score at least one more. John Duncan would not have played 2 full back with a combined equal age of 70. I'm feeling angry today.
0

mib added 13:25 - Feb 10 Have to agree with the negs today, why on earth change a side that played with such enthusiasm against Blackpool. I like to think that support and encouragement is the way to go , but my heart sank when I saw Chambers was in the team, and the first goal came from his side yet AGAIN. Doesnt make sense, my old coach always said that you always play your best side regardless, that last night was not the best side Lambert could have played in my opinion.

2

mib added 13:27 - Feb 10 Have I become a NEG.?
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NITFC added 13:48 - Feb 10 Reading this I'm beginning to wonder whether this guy is the problem rather than Lambert??? Don't forget he is the one who said he would rather win 1-0 than 5-0 Deluded
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Northstandveteran added 14:04 - Feb 10 No mib. It's not negativity, it's realisation. There comes a time when even the most optimistic supporter can take no more. Don't be hard on yourself. You've done well to hang on in there over the last ten years.
1

rossi added 14:19 - Feb 10 if the management are deluded enough to think that a draw would have been a fair result, that probably goes a long way to explaining why we are where we are
1

runningout added 15:21 - Feb 10 We deserved what we got. Players need to get their own strong mentality back. With Paul Dullbert on this sinking ship he can't motivate a sausage
0

HarleydavidsonBlue added 16:29 - Feb 10 The blind leading the partially sighted comes to mind. Just leave and take that so called manager with you. An absolute disgrace.
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heathen66 added 16:30 - Feb 10 mib, it not about being a neg, it is about caring for your football club...and wanting them to achieve better. I for one cannot just sit here and say ' oh unlucky lads...maybe next time'. I realise football is about opinions, but some of the decisions made by Lambert and even McCarthy before him are totally unacceptable, and need to be called out. Also when they play well (like Saturday) we should all give credit where credit is due. There are always some positive from every poor performance (although you may have to look deep for something last night, perhaps Downes ?) as there are negatives in some of the better performances (perhaps Thomas was not as good as we had seen previously). Just because it is perceived as a negative comment, it is because we want to see our club do better then the current situation. COYB !!!

2

Westy added 16:54 - Feb 10 The management team are clearly part of the problem here. We were out classed, out played, out managed and out of our league. Our games in hand won't count for anything if we don't improve and it won't be long before we will be looking over our shoulder at League Two. It happened to Portsmouth, Coventry and Wolves. Let no one think that it could not happen us too. The plight of this once great Club is affecting my health - mental, physical and spiritual.

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Skip73 added 18:15 - Feb 10 Pathetic once again. Giving them too much respect, it was Peterborough ffs. F*** Off you useless b*stard and take that coward Lambert with you. You, and most of the players and management are not fit to walk the same corridors as Robson, Wark, Mills etc. The slide will continue at least as long as you are here.
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bluesince76 added 19:28 - Feb 10 Covid 19 is keeping Lambert in a job there's no way he'd be still here if fans could attend games
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jas0999 added 19:31 - Feb 10 Evans is seriously taking the .... now. His manager will only speak to the press when we win - tell us we're like Barcelona and slam the fan base for being negative. When we don't win he won't face the press. SACK HIM EVANS.
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richardpaul added 19:54 - Feb 10 Not gone yet Why not
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IpswichToon added 21:10 - Feb 10 Phil, I hope you had a shower after putting that garbage in writing.
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VILJOEN67 added 21:39 - Feb 10 And therein lies the problem. What an extraordinary statement. Was he watching Man u West ham on his phone.
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brendenward35 added 08:21 - Feb 11 Let's face it folks Evans should never have given PL a 5 year deal because that's one massive cost if he sacks him. Did the same with Mick as soon as Mick got a long deal stuck his fingers up to the fans. PL is now doing the same basically saying ME sack him if he doesn't like it but I'm not going to walk. Be a long time before PL leaves and it won't be on his own back.

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Razor added 10:31 - Feb 11 EDDIE HOWE NOW!!!!!!!
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