Ipswich settling into Premier League after tough start

IPSWICH, England : Ipswich Town must have been wondering how much harder it would get when they failed to win in their first 10 Premier League games but four points from their last two matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have calmed the nerves.
The Blues, playing in the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, served notice they could put up a fight at the top level when they claimed their first league win of the campaign with a 2-1 success at Spurs before the international break and on Sunday they followed up with a 1-1 draw at home to United.
The visitors arrived with Ruben Amorim in charge for the first time but the new manager bounce failed to materialise in the late game at Portman Road as the hosts made it difficult for the Portuguese coach’s new charges to build on an early lead.
That came after 81 seconds from Marcus Rashford but Ipswich refused to lay down and took the game to United as they sought an equaliser that came before halftime from Omari Hutchinson. They were well worth a share of the points in a close contest.
“We could have won the game for sure. We finished the first half in big ascendancy and on the balance (of play) we probably deserved to be at least level but probably ahead,” said Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna.
“The second half was really competitive – we had a couple of big chances but we had to defend a lot as well. United had some good control and we had to be disciplined in our defending. We take the positives and we move on.”
Ipswich are still the only Premier League club without a home win this season but on this evidence it is a matter of time before they put that straight with matches against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth to come next month at Portman Road.
“We’ve got some good young players, there’s no doubt about that, who are improving and of course we’ve got some top senior players as well who are stepping up to the Premier League and getting stronger every week,” added McKenna.
The Ipswich manager worked at the Tottenham and United academies and was assistant to Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford so he will be especially pleased at his side’s last two results although they will need more of the same to escape relegation.
Sunday’s hard-earned draw left them third-bottom with nine points from 12 games before visiting Nottingham Forest next Saturday, although they are only three points behind 14th-placed West Ham United, who visit Newcastle United on Monday.