Kieran McKenna felt the Blues were in a difficult position but also a frustrating one at half-time as they were beaten 4-1 by Liverpool at Anfield, the Reds having been 3-0 up at the break, with the Town boss feeling his team hadn’t defended their box as well as they should.

Cody Gakpo netted twice and Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai once each as the Merseysiders went into a comfortable four-goal lead before Jacob Greaves netted his first goal for the Blues in the final minute.

McKenna was critical of his side’s defending in the first half in which Szoboszlai gave the Reds the lead, Salah added the second, then Gakpo added the third just before half-time.

“A difficult game, a difficult position to be in at half-time, but also a frustrating position because in some aspects similar to last week in terms of there being some positives in the first half,” he said.

“It didn’t feel like we were under huge pressure. We started the game well and from very, very little, from not a huge amount of pressure we found ourselves behind in the game and then a few goals behind in the game. Liverpool executed well and we didn’t defend our box well enough.

“So we found ourselves in a really difficult position in the game, especially after last week, a really difficult game management scenario, and I think we can take a lot of positives from the second half.

“Firstly, in terms of the early stages of the second half, everybody stuck together, we learned some lessons from last week, we stayed in our organisation, we managed the game pretty well.

“We still showed some good passages and moves with the ball as well and then we finished the game really strongly. The subs came on, had a really good impact, we got a goal back, we could have had another goal and the fans got some reward in terms of a goal in front of them.

“It’s a difficult game on top of a difficult game last week. We’ve made some mistakes in there that we can learn from, there’s reasons for that as well.

“But I feel like it’s one that if we take the lessons in the right way, and now we get to work hard on it, that we can be stronger for.

“I think finishing the game in the manner that we did at the end of two difficult games is a big positive and a good sign for us.”

Julio Enciso came off the bench to make his Town debut having signed on loan from Brighton and it was the club’s first Paraguay international’s corner which gave Greaves the chance to head home the late Blues goal.

“He had a positive impact,” McKenna said of Enciso, “As did Conor Townsend, to be fair, at half-time coming into that scenario, it’s a hell of an opponent to come in against when you’ve played maybe three minutes this season in the league.

“Julio, Nathan [Broadhead] and George Hirst all had a really positive impact when they came on, gave us fresh energy and different qualities. George could have scored from the header from Conor’s cross and then a great delivery from Julio and some good moments from Nathan.

“That’s what we said we were going to need. We needed to add more quality and depth to the squad and to the forward positions. I think Jaden [Philogene] showed some really good qualities today and Julio showed them off the bench and I think we’re going to be stronger in that position in the second half of the season.”

McKenna had praise for the 3,000-strong travelling support: “They were fantastic. It certainly means a lot and I thought they were incredible. They appreciate the challenge, they appreciate the size of the jump, the amount of change there has been and the challenges that brings.

“But I thought they were incredible and I’m delighted we were able to give them a goal at the end, and we want to reward their support in the weeks and months ahead by hopefully giving them some good days, so we’re going to work really hard to do that.”

TWTD

cpaz97 added 18:33 - Jan 25 Most frustrating thing for me was how anonymous our midfield was today. I don't think Morsy and Phillips work together. However hard to judge/criticise too much considering opponents. Nobody expected any result from today, but we expected commitment until the very end. And we got that. Positives: 1) Townsend looked very sharp when he came on 2) Apart from Enciso trying to break world record for fastest red card(!), I thought his corner taking was deadly! 3) We prevented Alisson from getting a clean sheet 4) Fans were fantastic Next game a must win! Really hope Wes isn't as bad as it seemed.

10

ringwoodblue added 18:51 - Jan 25 It’ll be interesting to see if Townsend, Enciso, Broadhead and Hirst start the next match given the positive impact they made when they came on today. Gut feel is that McK will stick with Davis and Delap if fit and well. Think Philogene will need lots of time to rebuild his confidence. Also hope Cajuste starts against Saints.
3

ImAbeliever added 18:55 - Jan 25 I think we miss Smodiczs more than I thought we would
5

victorysquad added 18:56 - Jan 25 We are better than that performance today, i still feel the occasion is getting the better of us on these big games, but we have got to the end of a tough run of fixtures. We Can look forward to the next couple of chunks knowing the hardest games are out the way.
0

SickParrot added 19:01 - Jan 25 Delap must be getting fed up that he sees so little of the ball. Hopefully that will change with Enciso at number 10 (if we can get the ball to him!). Thank goodness the transfer window closes on Friday!
1

Suffolkboy added 19:13 - Jan 25 Looks like we quite simply as yet can’t match the immediate performance and technical prowess the top,teams produce at will .With KM’s belief ,patience and direction ,however, visible progress is coming — and there’s no lack of spirit and endeavour ,with even our ‘new’ boys seamlessly contributing . Well done to all the terrific supporters cheering on ! COYB
1

Bluewhiteboy added 19:30 - Jan 25 How about not changing half the outfield players every game, maybe then wouldn't take until 2nd half to be able to play
6

Bluewhiteboy added 19:30 - Jan 25 How about not changing half the outfield players every game, maybe then wouldn't take until 2nd half to be able to play
1

itfcskayman added 19:36 - Jan 25 The biggest positive today for me was Townsend. Makes me wonder why he doesn’t have more minutes. Leif is one of our best players but he’s often blowing towards the end of games.
4

pablo123 added 19:45 - Jan 25 Next game is an absolute must win !! No excuses , we simply have to take 3 points or we are in REAL trouble
3

Gforce added 23:04 - Jan 25 @Sickparrot.......Sorry to disappoint but the transfer window doesn't close until Mon 3rd Feb. Don't know why some people think we've got easier games coming up,after Southampton it's Aston Villa,Tottenham and Man Utd away.April fixtures even harder, Chelsea, Newcastle & Arsenal. Hence we most definitely need to beat Southampton !
3

SpiritOfJohn added 07:54 - Jan 26 At half-time things were looking bleak at 3-0 down and Wolves 0-0 against an Arsenal team reduced to 10 men. However, we stuck together and for the first time in what seems like ages our subs had a positive impact, and we finished the game strongly instead of hoping for the relief of the final whistle. Also, the fans have kept faith and stuck by the team during these incredibly tough matches. Meanwhile, Wolves wasted a golden opportunity to get at least a point, so I would say our chances of surviving in this league have slightly improved compared to Wolves, whose own fans were chanting against their owners before their game ended.

2

Carberry added 10:29 - Jan 26 'Positives', that's what managers who are about to get the sack talk about after a very heavy defeat.
2

Linkboy13 added 15:04 - Jan 26 Asking Davis to play the wing back role as well as defending is to much at Premier league level Southampton is maybe be the ideal game to bring Townsend in and push Davis forward. I would like people on here not happy with Keiran McKenna to suggest who they would bring in to transform a championship team into a Premier league team even finishing third from bottom we are overachieving and if Keiran McKenna keeps us up he should be awarded manager of the season. Im afraid some people on here are out of touch with reality.

2

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls