It was a top performance – Kieran McKenna praises Ipswich after win over Stoke

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna hailed a “top performance” from his side in the 2-0 victory over Stoke.

Goals in either half from defender Luke Woolfenden and substitute Kayden Jackson maintained Town’s 100 percent start to the season on their return to the Championship.

Woolfenden rose at the far post to head home in the 23rd minute from a Sam Morsy free-kick, while Jackson converted in the 81st minute following an incisive move involving Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin.

McKenna said: “I thought it was a top performance, no doubt about it.

“I loved the way we stuck to our identity on and off the ball, we were brave in how we played. We played with the intensity, quality, the spirit, the resilience and the threat that we want to have and I thought it was an excellent performance in so many different ways.

“Of course there are areas to improve and we’re learning from every game at the moment.

“We learnt an awful lot from Sunderland last week and we’ll learn from this one again and look to improve.

“There’s going to be spells every week because the level of opponents is so high and we’re having to work hard. We’re not going to be able to dominate games throughout the whole 90 minutes as we were at times last season, so there’s going to be spells where we have to dig in.

“We have to put our bodies on the line and try and defend and block well and I thought what was really important was the way we kept playing. It wasn’t about just digging in, it was our bravery on the ball that turned the game.”

Stoke boss Alex Neil praised Ipswich for their bravery and accepted they “deserved” the three points.

He said: “The first thing that you have got to do is give Ipswich credit. They were better than us in the game.

“I think that when you come to places like this that first game is a great party atmosphere. Everybody is at their peak, the team’s been playing really well, they added a couple of bits and bobs throughout the summer to try and get them better and the first time we give the ball away cheaply on two separate occasions and what happens, the crowd gets up.

“What you need to do is to take the sting out of the game and you need to make sure you quieten the crowd and take the game away from them.

“But they were really brave, they went one for one all over the pitch and we lost, in the first half, pretty much every individual battle, whether it be a header, whether it be a tackle. I didn’t think we passed the ball well enough and then I’m forced to make a change after 30 minutes because it looked like Ipswich were going to score another goal.

“I thought we started the second half better. I thought they wrestled back control of the game, we had two good chances at the start of the second half and then I thought the game ebbed and flowed, but for the last 20, 25 minutes I thought they were better and Ipswich deserved their win.”