CARAYOL BOOSTS TRACTOR BOYS...
IPSWICH boss Mick McCarthy doesn’t believe his side’s victory over Preston at Deepdale brings them back into play-off contention but says they won’t give up hope.
Mustapha Carayol struck the only goal on his first start for the club since his January move from Nottingham Forest to end Ipswich’s winless run at three matches and move them to within six points of the play-off places.
McCarthy felt his side were worth the three points as they completed the league double over Preston, but isn’t pinning his hopes on a play-off push just yet.
“I don’t think this brings us into the play-off race,” McCarthy said.
“I’ve said it was over but I didn’t say we’d stop fighting for it. Preston have been excellent but we’ve played well today and deserved to win.
“I think that’s a culmination of really good performances this week. We should have been more than one up at half-time.
“The lads have played well, adapted to the system, credit to them. We had a different front three today, we should have had more with two really good chances and then we hit the crossbar.
“We defended really well then in the second half. They didn’t look like scoring really.”
Carayol should have given Ipswich the lead on his first start for the club after eight minutes. The visitors broke from a Preston corner and Martyn Waghorn played Carayol through, but the winger fired straight at Declan Rudd before inexplicably poking the rebound wide from six yards.
But it was McCarthy’s side who took the lead after 21 minutes as Carayol made amends for his earlier miss. Preston full-back Calum Woods hesitated in clearing, allowing Carayol to pinch the ball and slide it past Declan Rudd.
Dominic Iorfa then struck the bar for Ipswich from the angle of the six-yard box.
Preston boss Alex Neil had seen enough, making a double substitution after just 37 minutes as Woods and Callum Robinson were hauled off for Josh Earl and Josh Harrop.
The hosts, unbeaten in their previous seven, continued to struggle to get the ball forward but did manage to get a strike on target after 54 minutes as Browne’s strike from distance was held by Bartosz Bialkowski. And Neil’s men remained confined to long-range efforts, Josh Earl cutting in from the right touchline after 71 minutes and firing an effort at goal from 25 yards that was easily held by Bialkowski.
It was a first defeat in 18 league games for Preston, who are three points short of the play-off places, and Neil believes his players are feeling the effects of recent matches.
“It was flat and we never really got going,” he said. “I think of how much we’ve demanded of the players. We’ve had three really tough fixtures which have taken a lot out of them.
“The players wanted to play well but they didn’t have the energy. We didn’t look as if we were going to create anything. The players and myself will get criticised for this performance, that’s fine, but it doesn’t make us a bad team overnight.
“The simple fact is that when the criticism comes it is what it is. What I have to do is make sure I get us back on track for the next game and make sure we play a hell of a lot better, which we will do.”