Ipswich Town’s manager, Kieran McKenna, emphasizes the need for improvement despite a late draw against Birmingham City, highlighting the team’s potential and areas for growth. Birmingham’s manager, Chris Davies, disputes the penalty decision that cost his team the win, praising his team’s performance in their Championship return.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has stated that his team has considerable progress to make, despite securing a late draw against Birmingham City in their Championship season opener. The Tractor Boys salvaged a point in dramatic fashion, with George Hirst converting a penalty in the fifth minute of added time, sparking a lively end to the match at St. Andrew's.
Birmingham had earlier taken the lead through Jay Stansfield in the 55th minute, and a goal from Kyogo Furuhashi was disallowed early in the game. Just as Birmingham thought they had sealed a victorious return to the Championship, a handball decision against Lyndon Dykes allowed Hirst to level the score from the penalty spot.
This result continues a trend, with four of the last five league encounters between the two teams ending in draws; Ipswich won the other match 3-1 in February 2024. While Ipswich avoided defeat, McKenna emphasized the need for improvement across the squad. 'It was a really tough game, as expected on opening night. We didn’t really impose ourselves,' McKenna told Sky Sports. 'It’s still early for the group, but we improved after conceding. The boys kept pushing, and late goals are always valuable for any successful team.'
He added, 'Their pressure was effective. It’s early days for our group, and we’ll improve if we maintain the right approach. This result provides a foundation, but we know we can play much better. There’s work to be done. It has been a short turnaround, and our squad needs greater depth. We are still a long way from where we aspire to be.'
Birmingham certainly made their presence felt upon their return to the Championship, marginally leading in expected goals (xG) with 1.38 from 11 shots, compared to Ipswich’s 1.31 from seven attempts. However, Blues boss Chris Davies was critical of the late penalty decision, describing Andrew Kitchen’s call against Dykes as 'harsh'.
'It was a good game. I was really pleased with our performance, but we’re disappointed with the penalty, and conceding so late is a bitter pill to swallow,' Davies remarked. 'The penalty seemed harsh – you could review games all weekend and not find many similar decisions given. Over the course of the season, you hope these even out.' He continued, 'We didn’t allow them to settle, and the boys showed great focus – we were well-organized and switched-on. I could see many positives immediately after the game. We won’t face many teams better than that, and we were probably the better side throughout the match.'
Despite the frustration of not securing the win, Birmingham’s strong home record continues. They remain unbeaten in their last 26 home games (W21 D5), with their only longer unbeaten home run stretching from October 1970 to April 1972 (36 games).