Blues centre-half George Edmundson admitted last night’s 0-0 home draw with Cheltenham was two points dropped, but felt he and his team-mates created enough chances to have won the match.

Town were frustrated by the Robins having been dominant particularly in the first half, with the Gloucestershire side picking up their first ever point at Portman Road having been defeated on their previous two visits back in the 1930s in the Southern League.

“The gaffer said it in there, we’ve done more than enough to win the game,” Edmundson said. “We’ve had loads of chances but teams are going to do that now when they come to us.

“They’re going to sit in, time waste a bit. The positives are that we’ve had 17 shots, we’ve done enough, it’s just one of those nights where we could be playing all week and we’d still not get the goal. But the positives, we’ve had loads of chances to win the game.

“Obviously it’s two points dropped but we’re going to come up against teams like this when we’re playing at home.

“I think you can see from watching the game we’ve created so many good chances. I think on another night that ends up 4-0 or something. It’s just one of those nights really and we’ve got to look back, learn from it and see where we can improve and move on.”

Was it a case of needing to stay patient? “I think we were. I think our general play was brilliant. The gaffer said it at full-time there, he thought in the first half that that’s the best we’ve played under him.

“Second half, he thought we lost our way a bit, but even in the second half I thought we had loads of chances.

“When I speak about chances, it’s not just the strikers. Woolfy’s had a header, I’ve had one off a free-kick.

“These are nights where it might have to be a set piece and we know that our set pieces probably haven’t been good enough and these are the nights when one of the defenders has to step up and put one in.”

Edmundson says he got something on Bersant Celina’s second half free-kick which flashed across the face of goal.

“I got the tiniest touch,” he said. “A bit more and it would have gone in but it was just one of those nights.”

The positive was that the Blues picked up their fifth consecutive clean sheet, matching a club record previously achieved in 2019, 2013 and 1997.

Edmundson says that that’s not just down to the defenders but everyone in the side: “Not just the boys at the back. We attack as a team, so when we score everybody has a part to play in it.

“And when we’re defending and keeping clean sheets, it’s the whole team again, it’s not just the back five as such, it’s Pigs [Joe Pigott] when he comes on keeping it up there, when we boom it long or whatever, it’s sticking and it gives us a chance to get up. It’s not just the back five, to be fair, it’s a team effort, attacking and defending.”

He says it’s something defenders take pride in: “Obviously, apart from scoring a set piece, that’s probably the thing we look for, clean sheets.

“As a back five, we are buzzing on that part but, like I said, it is a team effort, attack and defence.”

In the way that an on-form striker expects to score in every game, do the Blues’ backline feel the same about clean sheets at present?

“I think it’s a bit different for defenders because to keep a clean sheet you have to be on it for 90 minutes whereas a striker, they only need one chance and it can be a goal,” he reflected.

“As a defender, if you get too laid-back and think you’re just going to cruise, that’s when you can start shipping goals.

“We’ve got to go into every game, make a fresh start, be on it and hopefully we can get another clean sheet.”

Edmundson has become a fixtures on the left of the back three which has started the last 12 matches having previously played on the right. Is he comfortable playing on that side?

“I haven’t really played it in a three before, I’ve always played on the right in a back three, but when it’s a back four I like playing on the left,” he continued. “I feel like it’s another string to your bow playing on the left or right.

“I’m enjoying it, I feel like I’m improving every day. Obviously I have to use my left foot more than might right now, so it’s good for me.”

He says the clean sheet record is the result of hard work at Playford Road: “I think you can see at set pieces, I don’t think we’ve conceded a set piece for ages. It’s something we’re working on.

“[Assistant manager] Martyn [Pert] always takes us, the attackers will go and do their bit and he always takes the back five and we’re heading.

“It’s basic stuff but that’s what defending is, it’s doing the basics well. Every day we’re keeping on top of it and just trying to improve.”

"Despite last night’s setback, Edmundson is confident that the Blues are very much in with a shout of a play-off place with 12 matches remaining with a trip to Morecambe on Saturday up next.

“Everybody knows that’s where we wanted to be even from the start of the season, but we’ve just got to take every game as it comes,” he said.

“We can have nights like this where you probably think we’ve dropped two points but then we can go and win on the weekends. It’s just one of them, we take it.

“We’ve just got to take every game as it comes, can’t get too high when we win or too low when we lose so, we’ve got to stay steady, look at the video tomorrow, see where we can improve and go on to the weekend.”

Photo: TWTD

Europablue added 11:31 - Feb 23 You didn't score, so you didn't do more than enough to win. Very clumsy phrasing, I suppose he meant that they created more than enough to score and therefore win.
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Europablue added 11:32 - Feb 23 Btw, definitely two points that we couldn't afford to drop. Now we have to beat teams above us.
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MickMillsTash added 11:39 - Feb 23 Some of the best football in the first half since Burley days Burns has to score Chaplin must do better Second half they tightened up, worked harder, 6 across the back at times. We needed to have more quality down the sides but fell into the long ball to Piggott being marked by Bonne trap. I'm sure we don't practice the hopeful punt on many days at Playford Road. Long way to go - we need to win 8 or 9 and make sure we beat Oxford and Plymouth - we can do it

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Timefliesbyintheblue added 11:40 - Feb 23 It is so refreshing to get not only our manager, but one of our players as well summarising last nights match so accurately. I as usual was there and sometimes these things happen. Pre McKenna we would have lost that match, but we got something. I believe it is now 23 points from 11 games during his tenure, which is incredible. As supporters, all I would ask is we have the patience and understanding to see the last 12 games through and who knows where it will take us. Milton Keynes, Burton and Cheltenham were all entertaining games of football and a good advert for League one in this country. Sometimes we forget there is a well versed opposition in front of us and victory will not be ours all the time. As for me I am proud to be part of the resurgence of ITFC.

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Europablue added 11:43 - Feb 23 Timefliesbyintheblue I agree with all you have said, but at the same time it feels like we are running out of matches. KM has done a great job to make the impossible task of breaking into the playoff places possible. I very much doubt that we will be able to make it into the playoffs, but I have a lot of faith in KM and the team to finish in the top two next year.
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Dissboyitfc added 11:47 - Feb 23 Had this have been a boxing contest, it would have been stopped by halftime! Really loved watching us first half, a real joy and of course we need to be scoring more.
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johnwarksshorts added 11:54 - Feb 23 Defence as usual did their jobs well, however I wish we could score from a corner or free kick! Shooting & Set piece practice training this week please.
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TimmyH added 12:00 - Feb 23 Played well for the first 25 minutes or so but thereafter a struggle to create, need a plan B. Personally find it a bit strange how Aluko's not playing that much recently and would like to see Simpson and even Edwards get some minutes, he seems to have been binned though he does cause defenses trouble with his pace he just needs to work on the end product...at times we need something different.

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AlanG296 added 12:12 - Feb 23 In the short time he had been here McKenna has improved us in so many ways but hopefully he will get time to work on improving our effectiveness at corners and free kicks which are currently an area where we are sadly lacking
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Europablue added 12:22 - Feb 23 johnwarksshorts Set pieces have been a glaring weakness for such a long time. You can always get a goal from a set-piece even when you are otherwise struggling to score. I assume that KM is working on this weakness, but I'm not sure how much a manager can do in a few months to address that problem. It probably requires drilling over an extended period of time. For KM to be really effective, he needs a preseason to concentrate without the requirement to always be getting results.

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Europablue added 12:25 - Feb 23 TimmyH Edwards is out injured, probably for the rest of the season. He got injured in training.
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TimmyH added 12:37 - Feb 23 Okay Europa didn't know...that doesn't help our problem down the left side.
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gosblue added 13:00 - Feb 23 In our day, part of the training for the ‘goal scorers' was hitting the ball into an empty net just to hear that beautiful sound. Then the second choice keeper would come in. He'd be told not to try too hard to stop anything. Then the defence would be brought in from doing their own routines. We worked on getting the ball in the back of the net. One-on-ones with the keeper, corners, free-kicks, penalties. It varied but it was always about hitting the back of the net. One or two of us would even stay behind after training just to do a bit more. The idea was to make it instinctive. I'm sure it's still the same nowadays but our guys seem to be trying too hard. It's just a net. Whether it's in a match or on the park with the kids there is no better feeling.

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Suffolkboy added 14:54 - Feb 23 Our man is right , but not right enough ! Far from it ; creating chances is of course essential ,but getting the ball into the opposition net and registering a ‘Goal' is what it's all about – and curiously that's the way you actually acquire more points than you started with ! I'm all for a patient and intelligent balanced look at the game , but in no way can it be right to even contemplate any level of satisfaction when you leave a job less than half done ! These chaps are well paid professionals who ought to be doing rather better than constantly explain how a performance ‘ merited ‘ points in the bag ! However you look at it ‘half baked ‘ IS ‘ half baked ‘ ,and they are not fulfilling the task for which they are paid . Much of the weakness can be attributed to sheer incompetence and lack of objective unemotional brainpower ! Come on you Blues , we know you can and will do better !

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atty added 15:20 - Feb 23 I would suggest that missing all those chances is a negative over having all those as a positive.
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ArnieM added 16:07 - Feb 23 …. Er, well no, we didn't “do enough to win” did we! We couldn't put it in the net from 6 yards or less . So no excuses . I got the impression the team feels “ they have the players to score goals”, so in some ways become almost blasè in games that we just need to keep doing our passing game back and forth and at some point the goal will come and the 3 points. But it doesn't work that way. We have to play these games like our lives depended on it. Build up some intensity and really put teams on the rack . I don't see that these days . Yes we have a lot of possession, but as I've said elsewhere, possession doesn't win games, goals do. Do we have the strikers to do that I wonder ?

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Kropotkin123 added 16:28 - Feb 23 Well done Town, fingers crossed for a win and a record sixth clean sheet.
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churchmans added 19:38 - Feb 23 My god! Phillip ham please put a limit on the nber of words that can be used! The length of these newspaper articles is ridiculous
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:05 - Feb 23 sadly DIDNT do enough to win, you have to score more goals than opposition to do that, and we still lack a real hitman. It looked like being one of those nights even before half time , We are more of a team now but still need real fire power imo . We were well on top but failed to score .
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ringwoodblue added 20:33 - Feb 23 gosblue - all sounds great but I doubt Pigott and Bonne could get past the empty net stage at the moment and Norwood would be too busy trying to pick an argument with the 2nd choice goalie.
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Mariner1974 added 20:41 - Feb 23 Some miserable soddds on here again. Come on TimmyH, Suffolk Boys & ArnieM. Singing the team's praises on Saturday, and throwing us on the bonfire 4 days later. First half Cheltenham hardly made it into our half. We were playing some wonderful flowing football. Painful that the final killer ball wasn't there last night, but come on, we played some great football, and were playing a team hell bent on just stopping us scoring, and then when they got as far as 75 mins fell over and time wasted to take their point. Real shame as there was only one classy team on show, and we deserved the 3 Points.

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runningout added 23:27 - Feb 23 Plenty to be pleased with… these Players know there's hard work ahead. Club is in such a better place now it's tricky to comprehend a blip or two
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Saxonblue74 added 06:58 - Feb 24 Mariner74, I kind of agree but sadly we've put ourselves in a situation where there is no margin for error. Our clean sheet record is admirable but I do think this is as much down to poor finishing from poor opposition as it is our defence being tight. Woolfy is generally much improved but you can still count several chances gifted by him each game due to his casual approach and poor decision making. GE also points out we don't concede from set pieces, but when did we last score from one? I'd love to know when we last scored from a corner! For a tactician like KmK I find this bemusing, we never look like we have a plan from corners. Even the SBR stand have given up on the chorus of "come on you blues", no expectancy from the corner flag whatsoever!

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Nobbysnuts added 08:30 - Feb 24 Well we clearly didn't do enough to win because we didn't score...so a pointless interview really. 2 points dropped which we couldn't afford to drop.
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Bazza8564 added 08:44 - Feb 24 Cheer up, 12 games to go, two away wins, two home games after that……
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