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AFC Wimbledon 2 v 2 Ipswich Town
Carabao Cup
Wednesday, 28th August 2024 Kick-off 19:45
McKenna: Not Much Wrong With Display Apart From Defending Two Set Plays
Wednesday, 28th Aug 2024 23:01

Town boss Kieran McKenna didn’t feel there was too much wrong in the Blues’ display as they exited the Carabao Cup on penalties to AFC Wimbledon, aside from defending two set pieces.

After Ali Al-Hamadi had given Town an early lead against his old club, the Dons netted from a free-kick in each half before Conor Chaplin pulled a goal back late on to take the game into a shootout, which the League Two side won 4-2.

“A perfect start, to be honest, there were some really positive things about the performance,” McKenna reflected.

“There wasn’t too much wrong with it apart from our defending of two set plays that we gave away cheaply, which we knew we couldn’t do tonight.

“We didn’t defend two set plays well enough and that put us in a difficult situation. The slickness of our play in the final third to create chances will improve as the understanding between the players develops. That wasn’t quite there.

“But other than that, there wasn’t too much wrong with the performance. And then we go to penalties and it doesn’t go our way.”

McKenna made 10 changes from the team which lined up at Manchester City on Saturday with six new signings making their debuts.

“I think it was the right thing to do,” McKenna reflected. “Of course, going out of the cup competition is not good, we’re disappointed for the supporters who came here tonight and gave us really good support.

“We wanted to progress in the competition, but it’s really, really clear what our priorities are this season and we’ve got a lot of new players to integrate and not many chances to do it.

“It’s not possible to do it in a Premier League game, so to get as many of them on the pitch tonight as we could was the priority for the football club, and, of course, that always gives a chance that the performance won’t be as you would hope.

“That’s what was the case with certain elements of the game but other than that, it was really two set plays that cost us. It wasn’t that our general performance or attitude or anything weren’t too far from where we want them to be.

“We made the changes. You know when you make those changes that the possibility of a difficult result goes up but everyone knows what the big, big priority for the football club is this year and it’s my responsibility to try and make decisions that help us with that goal.”

Asked whether the biggest disappointment is that Town won’t have a game next month in which those players can get more minutes, he said: “In some ways it is. We wanted to go through for that reason. but on the other hand, we’ve just spoken in the dressing room, we have to flip it into a positive.

“We’ll have more training time with the group, we’ve got a couple of away games after the international break and we would have had a cup game sandwiched in between those most likely.


“We’ll have more time on the training ground to work with the players, more time to build the understanding and the relationships and we’ll be able to prepare for the games a little bit more thoroughly.

“We have to use that as the positive but it doesn’t get away from the fact that the intent was to go through tonight.”

Regarding the performances of the six debutants - Dara O’Shea, Conor Townsend, Kalvin Phillips, Jens Cajuste, Chiedozie Ogbene and Jack Clarke - he said: “There were some good ones. I didn’t think there were many bad performances on the pitch, to be honest.

“Some of the new players came in and I think they all showed what they can bring. It’s just further in their understanding of how to play with each other, how to play with the players who are here, how we can find ways to get them in their best positions on a football pitch to be effective.

“Tonight was a useful exercise for that and we learned a fair bit about the strengths of each of them and the minutes in the legs will be very important. Again, hopefully that will help us in the next few weeks.”

Ogbene went off at half-time but McKenna allayed any fears of an injury: “That was pre-planned, he’s played a fair bit of football already. He’s only had one short training session with us, so he was never going to do too many minutes tonight and I thought he had a good first half.

“It was the choice to get him off and make sure he’s available for the weekend, and that we get through the first couple of weeks with him more smoothly.”

The Blues boss says Ogbene, who signed from Luton ahead of the match for £8 million, is one he’s been eyeing for a while.

“We wanted to add one to that position right through the summer really,” he said. “It’s pretty clear that Wes [Burns] has done such a good job for us in that position over the last couple of seasons mainly and we’ve always had different people fill in, but not many who do the role in a similar way to him. Probably Kayden Jackson was maybe the most similar that we’ve had in the squad over the last couple of years.

“We wanted to add that profile to the squad and Chieo was always a big priority in that position but as with all the deals, it’s about timing and trying to wait to do the right deal for the football club.

“We had to be patient on that one to make sure we got the deal that we thought was right. We’re glad to have him now and we have him for the rest of the season and beyond.”

Another striker seems set to be the 13th and final addition of the window with the Armando Broja situation still up in the air following the emergence of an achilles issue in his medical, which has led the clubs to revisit the terms of the deal.

Town have also spoken to Burnley regarding Lyle Foster, while Cercle Brugge’s Kevin Denkey and Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Édouard have also been reported to be among those being eyed as alternatives should the signing of the Albanian fall through.

“I don’t think there’s any particular updates, to be honest,” McKenna said regarding the striker situation.

“My focus has been on this game from today onwards but I don’t think there are any particular updates, so we’ll see how the next couple of days go.”

The Blues are already at 28 players who qualify for the 25-man Premier League squad prior to the addition of Broja or one of the other options and McKenna says he anticipates players leaving.


Freddie Ladapo was left out of the squad completely tonight, while George Edmundson, Jack Taylor and Marcus Harness are others who may move on either permanently or on loan before Friday’s 11pm deadline.

“I think that’s likely,” he said when asked if he expected players to leave. “We know we’re over our squad numbers at the moment, so it’s probably not too healthy to have too many outside of that with the group.

“There’s some interest in some and there’s a possibility that there will be a couple of departures before Friday.”

But he says he won’t be losing anyone he would want to keep hold of for the season ahead.

“No, we’ve kept the group together, which is very important,” he said. “You don’t want to lose anyone, to be honest, with the group that we’ve had. We’d love to keep them all, I’d love to work with them for the rest of my career, but that’s not how a football club grows and evolves.

“As I said before the game, it’s finding the right timing for each individual, the right opportunities for them in their careers and making sure it fits with what’s best for the club.

“If a few of those opportunities arise in the next couple of days, there’ll be a couple of really good players and a couple of really good characters move on, but that’s part of evolving the squad and evolving the club.”

McKenna was pleased with the way his team got back on terms late on: “I think the way the goal came, it was a great bit of character from Conor [Chaplin], I have to say.

“It was a ball that would easily have been given up on and at 5ft 7, he goes and smashes through the opposition goalkeeper with a header.

“If we win the penalty shoot-out, we’re saying what a fantastic moment and on an imperfect night, a great way for us to show the character in the group. It’s just unfortunate that it didn’t lead to us going through.”

Al-Hamadi scored the opening goal and pleased his manager with his display, while the Wimbledon crowd applauded their former player following his goal.

“He’s definitely working his way up to full fitness [after his summer adductor operation]. He’s coming back from a big surgery, that was his first start for us since Middlesbrough back in April, he’s not started any pre-season games.

“He’s still working his way up to full fitness but I think he showed some really good things tonight and I’m sure he’s going to get stronger as the weeks go on.”

He added: “I think it was a really nice moment, fair play to the supporters here for the applause that he got.”


Photo: TWTD



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Gforce added 23:23 - Aug 28
I noticed Burnley have put a bid in for Morgan Whittaker I hope he's not a potential replacement for that South African bloke,who might be on the way here.I think I would prefer Whittaker myself.
8

Carberry added 23:24 - Aug 28
Not much wrong with the performance and some really positive things. Can I see his nose getting longer in that picture?
-12

SoCalTownFan added 23:44 - Aug 28
Yeah......apart from wee Chaplin, everyone was awful. If you can't beat a League 2 team, you ain't gonna have a chance in the premier league. These new signings were pants. McKenna's been stiched right up, throwing money away on National league standard players apparently.
-29

TimmyH added 00:15 - Aug 29
From what I heard we didn't create that many chances...a lot of possession as you'd expect but couldn't break them down, maybe we should take notes from their tactics when we play Arsenal/Man U/Chelsea and other 'big sides'.
5

Bluemike31 added 05:04 - Aug 29
Cajuste looked quality, the rest looked a joke
-9

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 05:31 - Aug 29
Bluemike: Clarke looked good too. Disappointing result though, I have to agree.
4

USA added 05:39 - Aug 29
Don’t worry about the supporters KMc, most of them stayed at home!
1

jewellsjewells added 05:58 - Aug 29
Win Saturday this match will be forgotten..
5

oldtimer3 added 06:18 - Aug 29
Fulham will be a very tough match. We can not afford to make any mistakes or we will be beaten. Good luck for Saturday. McKenna has had to strengthen his squad quickly due to injuries to 3 for our promotion players. It will take time for the new man to gel.
8

JewellintheTown added 06:22 - Aug 29
Level headed, cool, calm, well managed response from KM as usual. Seeing the big picture so many fans don't seem to get about tonight.

Valuable sacrifices of a win vs bigger picture will reap rewards longer term. Value of tonight will show later in the season in a positive way & McKenna knows it & so do the majority of level headed fans.

I for one am embarrassed not by our club yesterday but by the negative responses & melodrama from a small minority of fans.

Get used to losing for a while as we've been spoilt for wins & success over that past couple of seasons. Last night will improve us.

Now is not the time as fans to turn & crumble. Suck it up, as this next chapter at our club is gonna hurt for a little while before it gets much better.

Take the hits, but trust in the process.
39

SpiritOfJohn added 06:35 - Aug 29
We had over 70% of possession but created few clear-cut chances. That gives some cause for concern but on the flip side I believe that we are assembling a squad who will be capable of doing some real damage when we get quick turnovers in the Prem and have much less possession. Last night would have been ideal for big Keiffer Moore - we should have signed him early doors and saved ourselves 10 million quid - and all this faffing about trying to get another striker would have been unnecessary.
5

Dissboyitfc added 07:08 - Aug 29
Disappointing for sure, but remember the maidstone game, season went ok after that didnt it, not the end of the world.

We move on!
12

jayceee added 07:16 - Aug 29
We're a team that's evolving way faster than is natural - but a team that has to evolve quickly to survive. There are going to be embarrassing and poor performances along the way. After all the club has achieved in the last few years, it's ok to have these kinds of slip-ups. Those displaying anger need to relax a bit, and remember how far we've come.
14

blueboyd added 07:18 - Aug 29
JewellintheTown has swallowed the cliche book.
-6

Carberry added 07:37 - Aug 29
Jewelinthecrown
Get used to losing to League 2 teams?
-5

SuperKieranMcKenna added 07:47 - Aug 29
The Cup is here every year…PL football might not be, KM did the right thing giving game time to as many new signings as possible.

Defending was the main concern, completely free headers - hopefully plenty of work being done on that.
6

prebbs007 added 07:58 - Aug 29
Kieran. Their keeper didn’t have to make a save apart from a scramble on the line late in the 2nd half. How can you say there’s not much wrong with the performance ?? Understanding that there’s lots of new players and it takes time to gel but Wimbledon also made lots of changes and yet managed to restrict us relatively easily. The performance was nowhere near good enough and showed clearly that most of those who played are back ups at best. Desperately need a prolific CF (yes I know they’re hard to find) and not Broja or Lyle Foster !!!
5

Global_Blue added 08:01 - Aug 29
Dissboy - sorry, fat fingers down voted you.

JewellintheTown - bang on. Huge disappointment last night, but it's a team with a lot of new faces that needs to develop. That will take time, but will hopefully lead to better things. Fulham is an important game, but tbh I think we need to look to after the first international break, when KM will have had time on the training pitch to work with the players and instill his approach.
3

Linkboy13 added 08:29 - Aug 29
Don't normally disagree with Keiron but im afraid defending is a very important part of the game and we were poor we also created very little apart from that very positive. I think deep down this was a glorified friendly to give game time to the new players but Keiron couldn't really say that after fans had spent their well earned money. Saturday's game is now massive regardless of the result to see if the team spirit of last season is still present.
8

ringwoodblue added 08:34 - Aug 29
Spot on Linkboy.
2

wischip added 09:02 - Aug 29
It just goes to show, that we can't just swap all our players that won promotion with new signings all at once for our League games. KM did the right thing in using this Cup game to get new arrivals playing even if it meant going out. He will have a clearer picture of who will play against Fulham and what aspects need extra training. Congratulations to AFC Wimbledon and applauding Ali was class.
6

BlueHennee added 09:25 - Aug 29
I understand what is being done BUT surely it’s better to play more 1st teamers/regulars in the 1st half to allow a few new faces to pick up on how the group play. Isn’t that easier to integrate? And the ones watching on the bench can also pick up on it & have a better idea of what is required???? I’m no manger obvs but seems the sensible option. Otherwise you are just setting up for a fall. The other way round (starting team & finishing team), I think would have had a different result.
1

BobbyBell added 09:29 - Aug 29
Six debuts, a back four that hadn't played together before or with the keeper, a new midfield pairing, a front line who hadn't played together before. Why are people moaning? We had to give game time to the new players and we can't expect everything to just click instantly. Saturday will be a different team and then we have the international break and time for KMK and his coaching staff to get some extra time with the new guys.
2

SickParrot added 10:17 - Aug 29
Kieran normally gives an honest and accurate assesment of the game but not sure about this one. I didn't see the game but those that did have indicated that, although there were mitigating circumstances (6 debuts etc), we were pretty poor.
2

bluebullet29l added 10:26 - Aug 29
He's joking surely??????
2


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