Chris delighted – Roy not so Keane: Match reaction and highlights.
Posted on September 28th, 2009 | 17 Comments |
I was away this weekend. A close friend of mine is off to Australia for at least 3 years, so a bunch of us got together for beer and golf in Oxfordshire (and I use the term ‘golf’ in the loosest possible sense), but I did manage to watch 70 minutes of the Newcastle United match before I was prised away from the TV and man-handled into taxi on Saturday evening. And I must admit my 70 minutes of Toon watching put me in a good mood for the evening.
We’ve had little to celebrate in recent seasons, so I thought I’d milk this victory for all I could and quote some of the match reaction from the two managers.
After the match, Hughton said:
“I am delighted with the approach with which we went into the game. From start to finish we were excellent.
“It speaks volumes for Kevin Nolan that a midfielder has scored a hat-trick. He has always been with one with an eye for goal
“The lads showed a great desire. We were fortunate enough to get the goals early enough to let us go on.”
And later added:
“I’d say this has been the most satisfying win of the season so far and we’re delighted to be back top.
“We were aware of what those around us had done with West Brom getting beat and Boro drawing.
“But we managed to keep our nerve and weren’t fazed by it.
“I thought the lads showed great mental strength and, from the first minute, we were excellent.
“To score three goals in six minutes was tremendous and after that the result was never in doubt.
“We never looked in trouble at the back and controlled the game from start to finish.”
Keane was obviously less pleased, saying:
“Clearly we are disappointed. We started alright but the first goal knocked our confidence.
“You have to persevere and encourage players.
“We have given teams a helping hand and we can’t keep doing it.
“I’m sure Kevin Nolan thought it was Christmas with the first goal and before we knew it we were three down. We certainly have to defend better.
“I don’t like losing football matches, the expectations are high but we have got to deal with it and get on with it.”
The result has left Ipswich one place off the foot of the table and from what I saw on Saturday Keane will have his work cut out to turn things around.
Nolan was of course our hero for the day. I must admit I wasn’t particularly impressed with him last season but he’s certainly playing his part this season. Hughton had this to say about Nolan:
“Kevin’s on fire at the moment and he was outstanding today.
“He is capable of scoring goals and at the moment he can’t stop scoring – long may it continue.
“His first was a fantastic header – he had a similar chance at Blackpool but unfortunately missed that one – but this was a top-drawer finish.
“For his second he’s found a turn of pace and it’s a lovely hook inside the defender and a cool finish.
“His third was a little easier but capped a great team display and individual display from Kevin.”
So, we’re top and with two home games this week – QPR on Wednesday and Bristol City on Saturday – I’d say we’ve got every chance of staying there. West Brom are away to Barnsley on Wednesday and then have a tricky away tie to 3rd place Preston on Saturday, so with a bit of luck we’ll even be able to extend our lead.
Match highlights (thanks batty).
:-)