Paul Cook ‘deeply hurt’ as Ipswich come undone against Cheltenham

Ipswich manager Paul Cook said he was “deeply hurt” after his side were stunned with a 2-1 League One defeat at newly-promoted Cheltenham.

Still seeking their first victory of the season, the Blues led through Matt Penney’s ninth-minute strike, but second-half goals from Callum Wright and Will Boyle earned the Robins their first win back in the third tier.

“I’m deeply hurt, especially after going ahead,” Cook said.

“It’s so disappointing. We started the game really well and looked dangerous and ended up defending our own 18-yard line.

“All good teams are built on solidity and that’s what we’re working on. The reality is that we need a little time to gel, but admittedly we should be doing better than we are with the players we have available.

“The last thing the players need now is me screaming and shouting. We’ve had a massive overhaul in players and we’ve got quite a few injuries – not excuses, but facts.

“We’ve got to build these guys up to be resilient and see games out.”

Cheltenham boss Michael Duff hopes the result can give his players belief that they can hold their own in League One.

“It’s just a win, but a good win against a big team obviously,” Duff said. “The second part of the first half and in the second half we were excellent.

“We were more aggressive and got on the front foot.

“The performances, the desire and the togetherness was there, but we had to ride our luck at times.

“But we looked a threat and it was a really good performance. Hopefully the supporters will see that and they came along with it as well. Hopefully we’ll have a few more of these days.”