Paul Cook knows “soft goals” after hurting Ipswich following MK Dons draw

Manager Paul Cook accepts Ipswich are being hurt by conceding “soft goals” after the 2-2 draw with MK Dons left them waiting for their first win of the season.

QPR loan striker Macauley Bonne took his tally for the season to three with both goals for the home side while Scott Twine and Matt O’Riley levelled for the Dons.

Then in the dying seconds, Norwich loanee Josh Martin saw his drive crash back off the bar.

Cook took charge back in March and has so far recorded just four wins in 21 games but, with 16 summer signings, the Tractor Boys remain very much a work in progress.

He said: “This was never going to be a nil-nil, not when you’ve got two teams taking the game to each other and scoring goals.

“In my opinion it was a fantastic game of football and from our point view, having taken the lead twice, we’re always going to be disappointed and especially with the manner of the goals we conceded.

“We’re giving away soft goals – we really, really are at the minute – and it’s hurting us. It’s affecting us getting results and it’s something we’ve got to rectify quickly.”

Bonne had plenty to prove when he arrived at Portman Road in the close season, having been shown the door when he was only 14 and then had to resurrect his career in non-league.

His opening goal was a spectacular strike in the 16th minute.

Kane Vincent-Young sent the ball hustling forward from the back and Bonne, under pressure from Warren O’Hora, brought it down brilliantly before firing high into the net past Andrew Fisher from 15 yards.

But the Dons’ enterprising play, which saw Troy Parrott twice come close to pulling them level, was eventually rewarded in the 58th minute when Twine was brought down by Luke Woolfenden and took the free-kick himself, finding the net from 25 yards.

Bonne restored Town’s lead when he turned in a cross from ex-Dons midfielder Scott Fraser, one of Cook’s many summer recruits, in the 72nd minute but the visitors equalised through O’Riley three minutes later after he dispossessed home skipper Lee Evans and raced on to calmly slide the ball home.

Cook added: “I said to one of the supporters, who was giving us a little bit of stick as we were coming off the pitch, to give these lads time.

“Yes, they are making mistakes and there’s no getting away from that. We’re making them at crucial times but we’re a brand new team.”

Former Ipswich youth player and academy coach Liam Manning, who took charge of the Dons last week, said: “I’m really pleased with the lads and very proud of them in terms of their attitude, application and ultimately how we played.

“I thought there were some really good moments where we controlled the game, caused them some real problems and created some good chances.

“It’s now got to be about being more ruthless in both boxes, not giving away the goals and making sure at the other end we finish teams off.

“Overall a point away from home is not a bad thing but there’s a slight frustration it could have been more.”