BREAKFAST Ipswich 1-0 Norwich City: Kieran McKenna’s perspective on the championship

After a 1-0 Championship loss at Carrow Road, Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna stated that the Blues did not buckle under the weight of recent East Anglian rivalry history.

Vaclav Hladky was fooled by Marcelino Nunez’s long-range free kick, extending the promotion-chasing team’s wait for their first victory in this match since April 2009.

Although McKenna’s team drew 2-2 with their neighbors at Portman Road earlier in the season, the Northern Irishman was asked after the game on Saturday whether his men had a psychological barrier against them.”There is not, to be honest,” the well-liked Town chief stated. It is good to win your derby, of course. This is the first one in four seasons that we have had.

“This is the second game this group has played at Portman Road, and I thought we performed incredibly well and almost won it.

Since this group of players has never visited Carrow Road before, I do not believe there is any baggage from events that occurred many years ago.

“We simply fell short of the necessary score to win the game. Although I do not think either team played to a very high standard, Norwich deserves credit for managing to win by a reasonable margin.

“I guess it was simply not our day, and perhaps the clubs will get together more frequently in the future. There will likely be more games in the upcoming years, and I am sure this team will have its moment as well. However, I do not think either of us will be spending much time in League One anytime soon.

“We definitely did not seem to be able to find our intensity,” Perhaps the schedule from a physical perspective. I would not bring up specific players, but there are some physical problems, illness, and injury in the camp, so it would have played a part.

Additionally, there is a lot of atmosphere in the actual game, which can occasionally drain the battery a little bit.

In the early exchanges, McKenna thought the visitors had quieted a boisterous home crowd. However, he identified Axel Tuanzebe’s challenge on Josh Sargent, which resulted in the Blues’ full-back being booked, as a pivotal moment.

He remarked, “We played the first 20 minutes of the game pretty comfortably.” “We were in control, not performing at an exceptionally high level, but the game was going well, the mood was calm, we were not giving anything away, and we were in a respectable position.

We could not quite break out of that period after that decision, which I felt was a bad one, because it really lit up the audience and the atmosphere for the next ten minutes of set play after set play.

The first goal obviously changed the tone of the game, and Norwich responded by defending compactly and with bodies. As the second half wore on, they were particularly effective in containing the crowd, using their bodies well, and posing a slight threat from Sargent.

“Losing a derby is more difficult, particularly since we understand the significance to the supporters and their greatest desire was to see the outcome.”

However, I believe that, to be honest, as professionals, we simply cannot afford to allow it to remain the case. We know how to handle disappointments and setbacks, and we have to handle this one as well.

“We are aware that it will hurt the supporters a little bit more, and that hurts the group a little bit more as well.”