Bournemouth defeat a big blow for Ipswich, concedes McKenna

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna conceded the nature of his team’s dramatic 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth is a ‘big blow’ for his players.

The Tractor Boys looked on course for their first home victory in the top flight since 2002 after Conor Chaplin put them in front in the first-half.

The home side kept Bournemouth at bay for the majority of the match but late goals from Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara saw his side lose for the third successive match, leaving them 18th and four points adrift of Crystal Palace above them.

McKenna believed his side deserved better but admitted his players have been left impacted by the nature of the defeat.

“It’s an extremely disappointed dressing room,” he told BBC Sport.

“I thought it was a good performance with some outstanding performances. Conceding late changes the momentum, and then they go and grab a second.”

Bournemouth made four substitutions before McKenna made his first sub of the match but the Northern Irishman was adamant that reinforcements were not needed at the time.

He said: “The game was in such a good place, we normally make subs earlier but we were doing well. We weren’t giving away too much and we were getting stronger.

“It’s a big blow but the group is working so well. We’ve had a disappointing week but we are working hard and competing with teams.”

Late defeat.#IPSBOU | @Nustone_UK pic.twitter.com/R0LK9nm6dK

— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) December 8, 2024

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was delighted with the impact of his substitutes as they helped the Cherries to a third successive league win.

He told BBC Sport: “The subs gave us the end product that we were missing. We were arriving in the right places but not finishing.

“They finished well, we were almost in desperation mode at that point. We didn’t have much structure and it was just about trying to get something.”

Victory leaves Iraola’s men just three points off Manchester City, who occupy fourth place, but the Spaniard insists it is not the time to be looking at the table.

“I don’t think we have to look at the standings, it’s too early,” he said.

“The most important thing is trying to win and then we see how many points we can get by the midway point.”