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Ipswich 0:2 Liverpool: What Kieran McKenna said
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Ipswich 0:2 Liverpool: What Kieran McKenna said

Kieran McKenna commented on BBC Match of the Day after Ipswich’s defeat to Liverpool: “Regardless of how the game went today, it would have been a great opportunity for the football club to see Premier League football at Portman Road for the first time in 22 years. It was always clear it was going to be a great occasion and I think the performance, particularly in the first half, was something we can be really pleased with and a really good base to build on in the season.

“I think in pretty much every way our pressing was really good, we won a lot of balls back high. We were aggressive, we were physical, we built with the ball. We went into the first line and caused Liverpool problems with our physicality. That’s a really good base to build on.

“We know it will be a challenge to continue to improve and do that over a longer period of time in the game. In the second half Liverpool were clearly the better team and our challenge is to build on the first half performance, take the good things and try to maintain them over a longer period of time in the game and learn our lessons from the second half and improve them week in, week out.”

Two chances in the first half: “Not only the chances, we probably had the shot at the end, but also big moments and big opportunities in transitions and so on. I thought we were the more dominant team in the first half.

“We know where we’ve come from. Seven of the 11 starting players were with us in League One. For them to play Liverpool on the first day of the season, to be so superior in the first half and probably the better team at that stage, is a great reflection of what we’ve achieved here. But we’ll look to the second half as well and continue to look for ways to improve and manage that part of the game better. But I think there are definitely more positives than negatives from today.”

Conceding two goals in five minutes: “This is a key phase in the game for us. We showed full commitment and good body language and committed ourselves in the decisive moments. We can learn from this.”

“After the first goal, Liverpool had the advantage and their front three were getting going. We were a yard away with our pressure and to be honest we probably heated up the game a bit too early. We probably could have stayed a bit closer in those five or ten minutes.

“I have no concerns about the character we showed on the pitch and also in the crowd. We know we will have difficult moments and we faced them, persevered and played our game of football until the final whistle.”

You can find the match report of Ipswich’s return to the Premier League here

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