ACE CHAPLIN GIVES BLUES A BIG BOOST
KIERAN McKenna admitted Ipswich were ‘fortunate’ to pick up all three points with a narrow victory over Gillingham.
Conor Chaplin provided the only goal of the game and kept Town’s outside chances of moving into the top six alive, while condemning their visitors to remain a long way from surviving the drop.
McKenna said: “It definitely wasn’t our best performance for sure. It was a tough game, we had the feeling all week it was going to be a tough game.
“I know there’s the perception from outside of the group because of our run that maybe we would have been in for a comfortable game, but we never thought that.
“I watched their game on Tuesday night and I knew that they were going to come here and pack their defence, run really hard and be good on their direct play and flickons. I knew it was going to be a big challenge.
“We know we have the quality to score a goal even when not on our best day and we know that we were fortunate to get the three points.”
Ipswich keeper Christian Walton was called into action after just three minutes when he had to push away a goalbound 30-yard free-kick by Danny Lloyd, who was stretchered off in the second half with what looked like a serious injury.
A long-range shot by Lee Evans was parried by Gillingham keeper Aaron Chapman, and the ball fell to Dominic Thompson who skied the ball high over the bar.
Ben Thompson’s 25-yard effort soon after narrowly flew past Walton’s upright.
With no intention of slowing the game down, Vadaine Oliver’s strike then hit a post, before Walton diverted a shot round a post from Lloyd following a goalmouth scramble.
But Chaplin finally broke the deadlock when he hammered home an unerring low shot past Chapman after receiving a well-placed pass from George Edmundson.
New Gills boss Neil Harris even felt his side could have snatched all three points.
He said: “It was frustrating in the sense that we got nothing out of the game and we deserved, arguably, to win the game.
“Ipswich are a great team, and with great players. They dominated a lot of the ball. The first five minutes we were excellent and then for 25 minutes they moved really well. “We grew into it before halftime and really came out in the second half.
“We could have been three or four goals up and then it goes against us with a moment of quality.
“I can’t fault the players. I said to them we set the standards on Tuesday and they have certainly improved them today.”
IPSWICH TOWN: Walton 7, Donacien 7, Woolfenden 7, Edmundson 8, Burns 7
(Edwards 54, 6), Evans 7, Carroll 7, Thompson 6, Chaplin 8 (Bakinson 84, 6), Pigott 6 (Bonne 78, 6), Norwood 7. Subs not used: Jackson, Burgess, Hladky, Celina.
GILLINGHAM: Chapman 6, Masterson 6, Ehmer 6 (Phillips 90+1, 6), Tucker 6, McKenzie 6, O’Keefe 7, Lee 6, Tutonda 6, Thompson 6 (Dickson-Peters 79, 6), Oliver 7, Lloyd-McGoldrick 7 (Kelman 68, 6). Subs not used: Dahlberg, Jackson, Sithole, Maghoma.