Ipswich Town defender Darnell Furlong admitted that it was hard to see his side end the week with a 3-1 defeat at Leicester City, having come into the game off the back of wins against Coventry City and Stoke City.
The Blues were full of confidence after beating two of their promotion rivals, but they found themselves 3-0 down at the King Power Stadium thanks to goals from Bobby Reid, Abdul Fatawu and Jordan Ayew.
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Jens Cajuste got himself on the scoresheet, with hopes of a comeback, but it wasn’t to be.
“It was very frustrating,” Furlong said after the match.
“We had a great week up until now. We wanted to make it the perfect week, but things went against us today. It was difficult.
“We can definitely be better, we’ve shown better this season. We’re still growing.
“I think they score against the run of play at the start. We were doing well up until that point. Then we concede another goal that we won’t concede again this season.
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“It obviously puts us massively on the back foot, but we tried to come back. It was a tough step going 2-0 down, but we always believed.
“I don’t think we managed to show the quality to come back and score three goals.”
The second goal felt like the killer blow. Going into the break trailing by one would have given Town motivation, knowing that the Foxes have struggled in the second halves of games recently, but Fatawu’s strike from inside his own half totally changed the narrative and the momentum ahead of the interval.
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Abdul Fatawu’s long-range strike gave Town a mountain to climb (Image: Ross Halls)
“As I said, it’s a goal we won’t concede again this season,” Furlong argued. “It’s a one-off.
“You might get a couple of those scored against you in your whole career.
“It’s one of those, it was a real sucker punch, but at the same time, it happens and we wanted to bounce back. We tried everything to do that.”
What was the message from manager Kieran McKenna at half time?
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“Just to stick to what we believe in, to keep going and make it tough for them,” Furlong revealed. “It was about trying to get the next goal. Obviously that didn’t happen, which felt like a little setback, but the boys tried and gave everything.
“It was a good week up until then. It was frustrating not to cap it off and finish it fully.”
It may have felt like a bridge too far for Ipswich, who lifted the mood around the club after defeat at Oxford United and a flat display at Blackburn Rovers. Consecutive wins against Coventry and Stoke will have taken a lot out of the group, but Furlong is adamant that it shouldn’t impact their performances or results.
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“We’ve got a great squad, great players, we’re fit and we train hard,” he explained. “This is what we prepare for, this is the Championship.
“It’s just one of those that didn’t go our way today and we know we’re capable of better.
“They are a great side with great quality. They are up there with the best squads in the league.
The Blues sit eight points behind the automatic promotion places (Image: Ross Halls)
“On our day, I think we’re easily able to match it. A couple of things went against us and we weren’t able to match our peak performance.
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“It’s one of them.”
The fact that Ipswich managed to turn things around after a turgid display at Ewood Park will give them confidence that they can return to winning ways against Sheffield Wednesday next week, with a pivotal games away at promotion rivals Millwall and Coventry coming up after Christmas as well.
“We’re never short of belief,” Furlong stated. “We know we’re capable of coming back in games, winning games, beating the best teams in the league. We saw that against Coventry, Stoke, teams that are up there.
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“It was a tough one, a few things went against us today, but we’re capable of more and we won’t be too down about it.”
However, they can’t give the teams at the top of the division too much of an advantage. The Blues remain fifth, occupying a play-off spot, but wins for Coventry [1-0 v Bristol City] and Middlesbrough [3-1 v QPR] leave them eight points off second and 13 behind top spot.
“To be honest, we don’t take too much notice of the league,” Furlong said. “It’s more about turning up and beating the opponent.
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“When we face Coventry and Stoke, we know they are teams that will be up there, and Leicester will be at the end of the season. But it’s irrelevant, really.
“We just go out there and try to do the best we can against whoever’s in front of us.”
