McKenna: A Wonderful Way to Win a Game Saturday, 2nd Sep 2023 18:59 Town boss Kieran McKenna hailed his side’s 3-2 victory having come from 2-0 behind against Cardiff as “a wonderful way to win a game”. Nathan Broadhead pulled a goal back for the Blues with his third goal of the season before sub Freddie Ladapo netted his second and third goal this week to see Town to a win which seemed unthinkable when the Bluebirds were 2-0 in front. “It’s a wonderful way to win a game whenever you do win it, that’s for sure,” McKenna reflected on his side’s comeback. “And we showed all the qualities that I believe that we’ve got in the group and that we’ve built over the last 18 months, in terms of the resilience, the spirit, the belief in what they’re doing and the unity for subs to come on and bring something different, and to keep going right to the last whistle. “It’s a great win. We said at the start of the season, we’re not going to win every game, we’re not going to win every game here, but we’ll try and give the supporters a team that will play brave football and will fight to the last minute, and I think today we did both.” He added: “It was definitely a different type of game and a difficult challenge. I think it’s the first time in the Championship that somebody’s come here and played a low block against us out of possession. “Whether that’s paying us a little bit more respect or maybe that’s the way they wanted to go about the game, but it’s the first time that a team has come here and defended in massed numbers behind the ball. “That’s a big challenge. But, of course, we have lots of experience of that from last season, but this is the first time we’ve had it in the Championship. And then defensively the players are a bit faster, a bit more athletic. “I thought their organisation was good and probably most importantly in the first half, in those type of games, you can very easily lose concentration because you feel like the game is just about how you’re going to break down the opposition. “And if you lose your intensity defensively, then at this level the quality of the players means you’re going to get punished, and that happened for the first goal. “The build-up to it was the first time that we’d really had to defend in the game so there was a great lesson for us in there. It’s always great when you get your lessons and you manage to win games as well. “There’s a great lesson for us in that first half of the concentration needed playing against a low block but with players of very, very high quality. “Having said that, I thought we worked the ball well at times in the first half and I thought we were only ever a yard away from scoring a goal and I knew that they would tire out because it’s a hard approach to do for 90 minutes. “And if we kept doing the right things, then we would come stronger in the latter part of the game and we needed to stay patient, we’d need the crowd and the players to keep their belief and stay patient when a team comes with that approach because you do get your reward sometimes at the end of the game. “Of course, getting the first goal helped change that momentum, but I also felt that that would play out by the nature of how the first half was, that they would tire more in the second half and there would be more opportunities for us.” Town lost George Hirst in the 36th minute to what appeared to be a recurrence of the adductor injury which saw him miss the Leeds match last week, but Ladapo came on and grabbed the two vital goals which saw the Blues to victory. “I’ve not had the full report on George but he was holding the same area, so I think it’s the adductor,” McKenna said. “It’s disappointing, we didn’t think it was any risk to play him today, to be honest. It’s normally a five-to-seven-day injury and he was almost close to playing last week, so we thought that we’d been safe enough with it. “If anything it was more his fitness levels which might catch him out in the later part of the game. “Obviously, he’s had another little issue in that area, so the good thing is that we’ve got a couple of weeks now to get it assessed and get it treated. “Delighted for Freddie, a great example for the squad of the level that’s required this season in terms of professionalism, everyone being ready. “As a striker, you’re not expecting to come on in the first half, but he was ready, he came on, had a good impact in his general play as well, his back to goal stuff was good for us and he got his reward with two pleasantly scruffy goals that all strikers will enjoy.” Skipper Sam Morsy came off towards the end and will now he checked over with the midfielder due to join up with the Egypt squad. “I think he felt something in his hamstring as he stretched for the ball at the end, so he’ll have to be assessed and we’ll have to see how it is,” McKenna continued. “Sometimes they join the international team for that assessment or whether he has the assessment here, I’ll have to speak to the medical team.” While Broadhead and Ladapo will grab the headlines for their goals, keeper Vaclav Hladky made some vital saves at the other end, the Czech having been on the end of some criticism following last week’s 4-3 loss to Leeds. “Delighted for him, that’s the nature of being a goalkeeper,” McKenna reflected. “If you make even a minor mistake then it can go against you and last week he wasn’t the only one, but if you make a little minor mistake against that quality, then you can get punished. “But the next week as a keeper you’ve got to come back and show your qualities and that’s exactly what Vaz has done and exactly what I would have expected from his character. “A really good performance with his saves and with his stuff on the ball and across the five games, he can be really pleased with his start to the season and I know he’s enjoying it and looking to keep going.” The Blues boss felt the crowd played their part in the comeback victory: “It was very important. At 2-0 down, you need your supporters to stay with you and that doesn’t happen at every football club and not at every football ground. “It happened today, I think the supporters they see how hard the players are working they understand that the challenge is really big. The first goal, we lost concentration, we didn’t defend well enough but on the other hand it’s wonderful quality from Cardiff and a pass and a finish from a player with top Champions League and Premier League experience. “They understand that it’s a big step up for our players and as long as they see us doing the right things and working hard, then I know that they’ll stick with us and that was the case today and that was very important. “It’s strengthens the bond, it’s one of the best things for a football club when you feel the confidence that no matter what the situation, we’ll keep going and whether it’s chasing a goal or seeing out a game, you feel that players will keep going until the last minute and the supporters will stay with them until the last minute. “That’s a great thing to have at a club and today certainly strengthens that, so it was really pleasing.” Town now go into a two-week international break. Asked whether, given the momentum which has been built up in the opening month or so, he’d rather his side had another game next week, McKenna said: “No, I think we need the break! We don’t need the break, that’s the wrong terminology but these stop points in the Championship season are going to be really important for us. “We’re having to work at our absolute maximum, I think the supporters can see that and anyone who has been at the games. “We’ve picked up good results but every game takes no less than 100 per cent effort and physicality. “I think we have to use these stop points well to regroup and refresh, to train and try and improve because when we come back after the next break, it’s midweek games every week between the two international breaks, so we need to use the training time well and the recovery time well, recover bodies, integrate further the new players and come back stronger for the Sheffield Wednesday game.”
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