| Hull City 0 v 2 Ipswich Town EFL Championship Tuesday, 25th November 2025 Kick-off 19:45 |  |
Akpom: I'm Really Thankful to the Fans Tuesday, 25th Nov 2025 23:13 by Kallum Brisset Town forward Chuba Akpom says he is extremely grateful for the support of the Blues fanbase after he netted his first goal for the club in the 2-0 victory against Hull City at the MKM Stadium. Akpom pounced from only a few yards out and had the simplest task of tapping into the empty net after Dara O’Shea’s header had forced Ivor Pandur into a save from a corner. Having failed to score in any of his first 12 matches for Town since his summer move, the Ajax loanee expressed his gratitude to the Blue Army for continuing to show their support despite the slow start to his career in Suffolk. “I needed a sweaty one like that, to be honest,” he reflected. “Every striker wants to score goals and I'm really thankful to the fans. There’s been games where I’ve come on and they’re still singing my name and I haven’t even got my first goal yet. That really gave me a big push. I’m glad to get off the mark. “When you haven’t made the impact that you wanted to, and you come on against QPR and Swansea and they’re singing your name, I feel like that’s amazing support and it gives me more of a lift. “Even today they were singing it again. It makes you want to give that extra 10 per cent, especially when they’re travelling to places like Hull. “Thank you to all of you guys that are doing it and I appreciate it a lot.” Akpom’s goal had a hint of offside on first viewing, but replays suggested Tigers full-back Ryan Giles was keeping the Town forward in an onside position. “I was looking at the linesman just praying because I saw the ref run over to him and I thought ‘oh gosh, come on’. I’m glad it counted,” he added. “You start to overthink it. It’s not something I'm used to, I like to put the ball in the back of the net so when it’s not happening I get a bit frustrated. I just had to show some patience and I'm glad it went in today. “If I keep doing the right things, keep working hard and keep playing for the team, I'm sure they will [flow]. “I’m sure a lot of the other new players are going to get their first one soon as well. To be a successful team, everyone needs to be chipping in.” Akpom has played virtually all of his games under Kieran McKenna in the number 10 role, but came on up front in place of George Hirst midway through the second half. The former Tigers loanee admitted that position is not alien to him and he has played there a lot in the past. “Yeah, for the majority of my career. I can do a job wherever,” he said. “It’s nice, I can play both roles. As a nine, I'm closer to the goal. Wherever he wants me to play I’ll give 100 per cent.” Victory on Humberside marked the third successive win on the road and extended the Blues’ unbeaten run to six matches. The result lifts Town to fourth in the Championship table while still holding a game in hand on many sides around them, the gap to the automatic promotion places having shortened to just three points. Akpom said: “It’s nice but it’s too early. You need to be consistent for the full season. We have a lot more work to do and hopefully we just keep on going. “It was a big win. One of the most important wins of the season, I’d say. It’s difficult to play and difficult to get points here so I'm glad we won. “It’s just about consistency and consistency is the hardest thing in football. We just need to stay humble and keep working hard.” The Blues’ opening goal against Hull came courtesy of Marcelino Núñez, who headed into the bottom corner from Jaden Philogene’s cross for his third goal of the season. “He’s a top player,” Akpom enthused. “He’s got an amazing strike on him and he’s a happy and positive character to have around. I’m glad for him.” Akpom’s slow start to life at Portman Road was not aided by his lack of a pre-season at parent club Ajax, with the 30-year-old admitting previously that he has needed time to get up to speed. With manager McKenna in favour of rotating in attacking areas, every member of the squad is guaranteed to get their fair share of minutes, whether it be as a starter or from the substitutes’ bench. Asked for an update on his sharpness, Akpom said: “I’m getting there. I had a tricky pre-season. No excuses or anything, but it was quite a slow start for me. I'm working hard in training, trying to do the right thing, trying to listen to what the manager wants. Hopefully things go up from here. “I'm not the manager. All I do is when I’m ready to play, I play. We’ve got basically two teams here at Ipswich and there’s top players on the bench. Whenever you get the chance, you just have to take it. “Everyone needs to stay on their toes because the gaffer changes the team all the time. It’s not like you’re not in the starting XI and you’re going to start complaining, you need to be ready because he could use you in the next game. “When he does it like that, it keeps everyone on their toes and keeps you sharp and wanting to impress. “We’ve got big quality but the Championship is ruthless, anyone can beat anyone. If we show the grit that we showed today with the quality on top, I think we’ll be a force.” It is a quick turnaround for the Blues, who face another away trip to Oxford United on Friday night. “It’s been a while since I’ve had two midweek games with Tuesday-Friday,” Akpom added. “It’s tough but we’ve got the team for it and there’s no excuses. We’ll go out there and give 100 per cent.”
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