Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v 2 Ipswich Town FA Premier League Saturday, 14th December 2024 Kick-off 15:00 |
McKenna: It Feels Like a Big Win For Us Saturday, 14th Dec 2024 19:09 Boss Kieran McKenna admitted that Town’s 2-1 victory at Wolves felt like a really big win, Jack Taylor having headed the winner in the fourth minute of injury time. Earlier, a Matt Doherty own goal had given the Blues a first-half lead, before Matheus Cunha equalised for the Old Gold in the 72nd minute. McKenna was asked whether he believed his side would win when Wolves levelled with the impetus firmly behind Wanderers at that stage. “I think we faced some difficult momentum after the equaliser,” McKenna said. “I thought up until that point we were the better team, I thought we’d handled the game really, really well, even in the second half, to be honest. I thought we had the game under really good control. “We spoke in the week about how we try and manage 1-0 leads and we felt like we needed to be more proactive with the ball and do everything we can to try and get the second goal and, to be honest, I thought in the second half we’d done that, we just didn’t execute well in the big moments that we had to go and get the second goal. “The goal comes against the run of play and then it’s football away from home. Everything flips, they have the momentum, they’re bringing on really good substitutes and we had to hang for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, make some big saves, some big blocks. “What I will say is that I think in the six or seven minutes before the goal I think we went again. The subs came on and gave us good impetus, Jack Clarke had a couple of good runs, Ali [Al-Hamadi] had a couple of good runs and the players at that point weren’t settling for the point. “Once we got through that really tough spell, we were pushing for the winning goal and a brilliant way to get it.” Regarding his changes in the latter stages at 1-1, McKenna was asked whether he was settling for a point or whether those switches of personnel were aimed at still trying to win the game. “There’s a balance to be had,” he reflected. “We try and keep, and tried to keep, enough goals on the pitch to still have a chance. We tried to keep Omari [Hutchinson] on the pitch to give us the threat going in the other direction, Ali and Jack Clarke were giving us a threat and trying to carry it forward. “It’s a balance to be had. You can’t be silly in those moments, the momentum was against us, but we had enough attackers on the pitch and we believed that apart from the spell when they had the momentum after the goal, we were able to play through them and we were getting some good joy. “I think we did push for the last few minutes of the game, we had one or two other moments and I think the main thing is the belief on the pitch and I think the belief on the pitch was there that was still a moment there for us to go and get the winner.” Regarding the mood in the dressing room, McKenna continued: “It’s fantastic, of course. That’s football and these moments are moments to cherish for everyone involved with the club. We’ve had a few go against us this year. Of course, last weekend with Bournemouth was a tough one in the 97th minute, but we’ve had plenty go for us in the last few years as well, so there are no violins for us as a football club. “It’s about doing the right things as often as you can and we know, and I’ve said it many times, if we do really well this year, if we do a lot of things right, then we’ll be competitive in the games. We’re not going to blow teams out of the water. “If we’re competitive every week, it means that the games are going to be decided on fine margins and we’ve just got to keep working really, really hard on every tiny little detail and bit of our game model, of our mindset, of our psychology that can turn the margins in our favour and today we came out on top of it.” The Northern Irishman admits it’s an important result, only Town’s second victory of the season following the 2-1 win at Tottenham, but not necessarily as it was against one of the Blues’ rivals to escape the drop. “Wolves’ position or where they are doesn’t mean that much to me at the moment,” he insisted. “It’s a significant result for us. We know we’ve been competitive in lots of games, we know we’re doing a lot of good things but we also know we’ve probably left a few points out there this season and we need to collect points. “It feels a really big win for us, I think any game we win in the Premier League this year is going to feel like a really big one for us, but doing it in the manner we did after the setbacks we’ve had over the last couple of weeks since the United game, really, that makes it feel even more significant and even sweeter.” Regarding winning goalscorer Taylor, who has now netted in the top five divisions for the Blues, Barnet and Peterborough, he added: “The dressing room’s delighted for him, I have to say. It’s another fantastic story in the group. “I spoke about him last week, but when you lose these things get lost. But in reality last week, stepping in for his first start in the Premier League having come from Barnet in the National League, the journey he’s been on. “It was his first competitive start for maybe six or seven months, so to perform as he did last week was incredible, it was a testament to him and the group and how they work every day, and to the staff how they work every day. “To then not start today, of course, he was disappointed, Jens [Cajuste] is in fantastic form as well and I thought played really well, so it’s great position for the squad that we’ve got two players both doing really well in that role at the moment. “But as the top person, top professional that he is, to accept and understand that and be ready today and come on and make the impact was brilliant for him and brilliant from him. “It’s our fifth player now who has scored in every division in English football [top four], so that’s a testament and a statement to the group. “It’s obvious to anyone who wants to look, six of our starting team today were with us in League One 18 months ago. Jack Taylor, who comes on and scores the winner, was in League One 18 months ago, Ali Al-Hamadi, who comes on a sets up the winner, was in League Two 10 months ago. “The group’s been on an incredible journey, every single individual in there has got their story and Jack has a lovely moment in his story today.” Taylor also scored the winner in the 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Wolves in September last year, a 25-year-old stunner, the Blues having come from two goals behind to beat a team then in a division above. “It was a tough decision today because he did really well against Wolves last year,” McKenna recalled. “It was a different game and we weren’t going to read much into it but he had played really well in that game. “He’s a goalscoring midfielder. I can’t say he doesn’t score enough with his head as we don’t put him in the box that often, but he can head the ball and he said to me on the pitch, ‘I need to be in the box more for set plays’ and he’s probably right.” Hutchinson started on the left rather than the right or down the centre and McKenna says that was to some degree down to last season’s match. “He started there last year against Wolves and scored and played really well,” he said. “We know those positions for us are two number 10s and we wanted to play Omari not even really as a left 10 today, more almost as a false nine or right through the middle of the pitch where it would be hard for his back five to pick him up. “And he picked up some great positions in the first half and he was really, really hard to pick up. It was a good role for him, gives us another good option in that position and it’s important to have that versatility.” Wolves have now conceded seven out of eight goals in three games from set pieces and McKenna says they’re something he looks at in detail every week in any case. “We focused on it, of course we do that every game, we try and work on the set plays,” he added. “It’s part of the game plan every week. I think when you score one in the 93rd minute, it’s not a routine or anything like that, it’s about people coming on the pitch and executing jobs well. “It was a great delivery from Jack Clarke and Jack Taylor, who is not usually in the box, steps up and that’s the first contact header we’ve scored this year, and we should have more. It’s a great way to score and a big moment for us.” Wolves manager Gary O’Neil was under-fire coming into the match with Wanderers given their position and having lost the previous three games, and McKenna says the situation at an opposition club is also something he addresses before a match. “You always speak about the context of the opposition,” he continued. “What their run’s been like, how their form is, how the crowd might be. It’s always something in away games if a team’s not doing as well as they’d like to do, if you start well, if you get the first goal especially, the atmosphere can work against a home side. “That’s natural that that was something that we spoke about, I think we did manage that really, really well. We had a real good control of the crowd for whatever it was, maybe 70 minutes, until they scored. “And then the other side of it came in, which we also spoke about before they game. If they get something then the place will light up and the frustration will turn into support, and we felt that for the next 10 or 15 minutes as well. I think those things are normal in away games.” Reflecting on the progress his squad has made over the season to this point, he added: “I think we’ve learned as we went along. I think we signed six of the players we brought in in the last two weeks of the window, so players needed time to settle. “If you look at maybe Dara O’Shea, for example, he came in really late in the window, didn’t play the first league games for us. You can see now he’s settled into the team, he understands our defensive principles, he understands our structure on the ball and he’s growing into the team as a leader. Naturally players that we’ve brought in have had more time now to settle into the team. “I think when you look at the boys who have been with us today, Harry Clarke, Cameron Burgess, Leif [Davis], Samy [Morsy], Wes [Burns], Conor Chaplin, I think those boys are adapting to the level in a way that is an absolute credit to themselves. I think they’ve grown in confidence and have also adapted to the level of the league. “I think the team’s growing. It’s easier to say it whenever you score a 93rd-minute winner. I liked the second half anyway, we managed the game better than we have in other instances when we’ve been one-goal up. “It’s nice to have the result to give evidence of it today, but I think the team and the individuals within in are growing are as the season goes along.” Quizzed on whether he was optimistic for the second half of the season, he said: “Yes, I think that’s fair to say. I think I’ve seen enough in the performances. We’ve been competitive enough in all the games to feel like we’re on the right track in many aspects. “It’s not unlucky that we haven’t won more games, we still want to own what we can own. We still have to try and improve, we still have to try and improve the players here, we still have to try and improve the squad in the next window, but I think when you’re as competitive as we have been in almost every game, that takes a lot. “And if you’re competitive and you’re in the game every week, then some are going to go your way, even by the law of averages. Probably we haven’t had enough of the tight ones go our way, so it’s great that today we did.” Regarding Sammie Szmodics’s absence from the squad, McKenna confirmed that the forward had been unwell. “He’s been sick for the last few days, so he wasn’t able to travel,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll be OK for next week.” As for the fracas at the final whistle, which led to Liam Delap picking up a fifth yellow card which will see him miss next week’s home game with Newcastle and Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri sent off for a second bookable offence and Cunha appeared to punch one of Town’s stewards, McKenna said he wasn’t sure what happened: “I didn’t see what happened. It’s an emotional moment in the game. I didn’t see it.” McKenna’s former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at the game and the Town manager was reminded that the Norwegian had a history of late, late goals during his career. “It was quite a similar flick-on header to the back post in some ways, ’99 Nou Camp!” McKenna laughed. “Ole’s a friend, he’s in England with his family for Christmas, so hopefully be brought us a bit of luck today.”
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