McKenna: One of the Best Performances Since I’ve Been Here Saturday, 12th Nov 2022 18:19 Boss Kieran McKenna felt his side’s display against Cheltenham was one of the best of his time at Portman Road, despite the Blues having been held to a 1-1 draw by the Robins. Town managed 29 shots and 74 per cent of the possession as they dominated the visitors but had only Luke Woolfenden’s goal to show for their efforts. Cheltenham scored via Ryan Broom, their only shot on target all afternoon. Asked how his side hadn’t won, McKenna reflected: “There’s probably a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is that we only scored one of the many, many, many, many chances and big chances that we had, and we conceded from the only shot of the game. That was a goal of team and especially individual errors, so that’s the short answer. “But the flow of the game and the performance, there were so many positives in it. I thought it was one of the best performances since I’ve been here, to be honest. “I thought the first 30 minutes was probably the best performance since I’ve been here, especially in the type of game where the team come to set a low block and frustrate, I thought the way that we created the energy and the atmosphere. “Everything that we spoke about that we wanted to do before the game we managed to do, so there’s some things to look at in terms of the performance and positives to take, but there’s no getting away from the overriding feeling which is the disappointment of the two points dropped.”" “When you get the one-goal lead, you should go on and win the game,” McKenna said. “We had more than enough chances to get the second goal. “I don’t think it changed the flow of the game because it wasn’t like Cheltenham came out and defended their box with fewer bodies, they still had a lot of bodies in front of the goal at 1-0, but we had more than enough chances to score. “Of course, luck comes into it, we had a great build and chance when Marcus [Harness] hit the underside of the bar and you’re talking about millimetres from being 2-0 up and similar at the end with Panutche [Camara]’s shot which hits the inside of the post and you’re millimetres from winning the game. “We got the early goal, the first 30 minutes was very, very, very good, should have scored the second goal and very importantly, as a team, allow them to score with their first shot in the game.” Town had a number of penalty appeals over the course of the game but with referee Geoff Eltringham waving away their protests. “I thought the handball at the end [was a penalty],” McKenna said. “I’ve not seen any of it back, but I thought the handball at the end looked clear from where we were. “There are a few things I could say about the referee’s performance but I’d rather focus on us and what we need to do better. I thought the time added on was out of context with what we’ve seen this year with us having eight and nine minutes at times in games. But I’d rather focus on ourselves and the things that we need to do better.” Having lost 1-0 to Lincoln as they took a similar approach to Cheltenham last month and been similarly frustrated by the Robins last season, McKenna knows that plenty of other teams will come with the same game plan. “They’re great challenges, there’s no doubt about it,” McKenna admitted. “I’m eyes wide open about how difficult it is here. There’s no getting away from it. “I believed that we would score, I think that’s a real positive, I’ve got belief in the players, right the way through I felt like we were going to score. “It’s not easy, I said it yesterday, it’s as difficult a game to get a result in as people perceive the bigger games are because of the nature and the flow of the game and it’s not easy to score in that second half when you’ve that many bodies throwing themselves in front of the ball. “But when we create as many chances as we did, we should score and the players know that. “That’s the challenge, it’s a great challenge. I’d certainly rather be in charge of the blue team than the red team. I was proud of a lot of the things that we did, we did so many good things, 26,000, I thought the atmosphere was fantastic. “It’s a great challenge for us as a team and a great challenge for us as a club to be successful because it’s certainly not easy and we’re doing a lot of good things. “I feel there is a part that it’s fair to say that we haven’t had the rub of the green lately and that will change over the course of the season and I still have a lot of belief in these players to keep improving and putting in performances and to be getting big results.” With Dominic Ball joining Lee Evans on the sidelines and Camara not yet fully up to speed, youngster Cameron Humphreys looks set to play a big part in the next few months. The academy product made only his second league start against the Robins but his display belied his years and his inexperience. “I thought he was excellent, really enjoyed watching him,” McKenna said. “I thought both midfielders [were], to be fair, Samy [Morsy]’s now had to adjust without Lee and without Dominic to playing in a different role and more of a controlling role in midfield, and I thought he adapted to that really, really well. “And I thought Cameron did very, very well. There are very few 19-year-olds playing for the bigger teams in this league, who have come through academies. “Of course, you get some players who come in from the major academies and come on loan but for a 19-year-old homegrown kid performing how he has in the two games that he’s played at just turned 19 at a big club like Ipswich Town is a credit to him. “So, happy for him on a personal perspective, but I’m sure he’d rather have the three points.” Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott was unsurprisingly delighted with the point and his team's performance, particularly so after last week's 2-1 FA Cup defeat to non-league Alvechurch. “I thought we were brilliant, excellent,” he said. “We spoke in the week and before the game about whether we wanted the Alvechurch result to define our season. “Football is where you can go out and express your personality and we had our chance to show what we think we’re about and I thought they were top drawer, to a man.” Quizzed on what pleased him most, he added: “The togetherness, the fight, the spirit. In the first half, it took us 10 minutes to settle into the game, then we had some good moments. “We scored a really good goal and had one or two other opportunities. You come here, they are a really good side so you know you are going to be under the cosh. “You have to show a completely different side of you and from one to 11, we defended brilliantly. “It's not luck. We worked in the week on when they get into positions in the final third, how we populate the box, the positions we take up for crosses and people were throwing themselves in the way of shots and blocks, putting their head on things and the goalie making saves, it isn't luck, it's hard work, committed people and a good performance.” Cheltenham recorded 17 blocks, which Elliott says was how he anticipated the game progressing. “We expected at some point, we'd come under some pressure here,” he reflected. “They are a really good side, with 25,000 people, so you do plan in the week that you are going to come under a bit of pressure.”
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