Kieran McKenna praises goalscorer Tyreece John-Jules as Ipswich beat Shrewsbury

Posted Sunday, August 21, 2022 by PA

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna heaped praise on striker Tyreece John-Jules after the youngster marked his first league start for the club with a goal that set the Tractor Boys on their way to a comfortable 3-0 win over Shrewsbury.

The 21-year-old Arsenal loanee opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, dispossessing Shrewsbury captain Luke Leahy around 40 yards from goal before going on a mazy run through the heart of the home side’s defence and slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

McKenna said the club wanted to be patient with John-Jules, who arrived in the summer on a season-long loan, but insisted he deserved his start and reward of a goal.

“We know Tyreece can play in different roles,” the Northern Irishman added.

“He’s very good between the lines but he’s also capable of playing back to goal and playing a bit higher up.

“We thought today that, with the way they set up defensively, having a number nine who dropped in a little bit more, who played a little bit deeper, who took the ball between the lines would suit the gameplan well.

“I thought he did that bit of it very well but also showed that he can compete physically with the centre-halves, so it’s a good step forward for him.”

Ipswich doubled their advantage seven minutes after half-time as Conor Chaplin’s left-footed strike from just outside the box found its way past goalkeeper Marko Marosi.

The three points were sealed two minutes into stoppage time with substitute Kayden Jackson tapping home after captain Sam Morsy’s attempt was blocked on the line.

The victory extends Ipswich’s unbeaten start to the League One season to five matches and McKenna’s men have now won four games on the bounce.

Shrewsbury lacked a cutting edge throughout the match and their only shot on target came in the dying moments when Matthew Pennington’s volley was easily saved by Christian Walton.

Manager Steve Cotterill felt the recent schedule, specifically three games in the space of seven days, had a detrimental effect on his team’s performance.

“Yeah it was tough for the boys out there today,” he said.

“I think it looked like the month had caught up with us a little bit, certainly this week.

“I think when we looked at this week – having Wycombe, Derby and Ipswich all in the same week – it’s not an ideal week to play all those top teams in League One and I think it looked like it caught up with us.

“After about 15 minutes I was a little bit bothered when I looked at a few of them today, but you just hope that they can stay in the game long enough.”