Ipswich drew 2-2 at home to a strong Villa side in the 6th round of the Premier League tonight. After the match, Isthmian Town boss Kieran McKenna gave his thoughts on the game in an interview with Sky Sports and the Match of the Day program.
McKenna said that Ipswich largely made the game uncomfortable for Villa, who, despite being a top team, opted for long passes on a number of occasions when they opened the ball up, while Ipswich dominated possession and created enough chances to win the game. McKenna praised Draper in particular for his outstanding performance, crediting him with keeping the team competitive throughout as the whole team never got discouraged from going 1-2 down. At the same time, McKenna also mentioned that Draper still has a lot of potential to be tapped into, and that he is not yet in top physical shape, as he suffered a serious injury at the end of last season. But Draper's impact and all-around performance has made the team very happy.
McKenna also said that it is not easy to create chances in this league and the fact that Ipswich are able to create them shows that the players are settling in. He believes that the next step is to take more chances and emphasized that the team is showing an ever-improving look. On the four game unbeaten run, McKenna believes it is a remarkable step forward, but the team still feels they have plenty of room for improvement.
In an interview on the day's match program, McKenna again emphasized his team's competitiveness in the game. He felt that Ipswich created the better chances in the game and despite coming back from 1-2 down to equalize, getting a point was a good result. McKenna said that it was a close game with two good teams playing against each other and that the team could learn a lot of positives from being able to compete against a team that has been together for three years and a top coach. He concluded by mentioning that every game is tough, but Ipswich have had four good results in a row, with the only teams to beat them being Manchester City and Liverpool, and that was in the first two weeks when they were just forming as a unit. McKenna believes the team is doing a lot of things right.
