Before this weekend’s early kickoff East-Anglian Derby, the Tractor Boys have been on an incredible run of form, winning nine of their last ten Championship games and vaulting to the top of the standings.
Prior to today’s match, Ipswich Town had not defeated Norwich at Carrow Road in more over eighteen years and had not triumphed in a derby against the Canaries since April 2009. But this time, things were different because McKenna’s team entered the match as the favorites.
Still, the search for a win over their rivals from East Anglia has gone on. The only goal of the match came from a Marcelino Nunez free kick just before halftime, as David Wagner’s team secured all three points in the midst of their own promotion push.
Despite having 63% of the ball for the whole of the game, Ipswich was unable to convert any of its 10 shots on goal, endangering their lead in the Championship.
After the game, head coach McKenna told club reporters that his players had lost their intensity after playing three games in eight days and that neither of the two teams had any real quality.
The Northern Irishman stated, “We didn’t play to our best level, for sure, but I don’t think it was a very high-quality game, with neither team creating too many chances.”
This was our third big game in a week but I didn’t think we found our intensity or our bravery on the ball for the first 20 minutes, but I thought we were in control until a spell of set plays.
“Some of them were soft – I thought the one given against Axel and the one which led to the goal were soft – and there was a spell of set plays we needed to defend. Aside from that, I didn’t think there was a lot in the game.”
All of the Championship teams, including Ipswich Town, have played a lot of football lately. But McKenna’s team faced some really tough games, most notably Monday’s match at Portman Road against Southampton, which came to an abrupt finish.
Even if his team’s home setback to their fierce rivals will disappoint them, they still have very winnable games remaining. They would accomplish an extraordinary promotion to the Premier League if they won all five of their remaining games.
