Town's bright start quickly unravelled as they suffered a 4-1 defeat to West Ham United in their worst performance of the season. Alex Osborn reports.
Despite a quick equaliser from Liam Delap, defensive errors and a second-half collapse proved costly for the Tractor Boys at the London Stadium.
A fast start
Ipswich went into this game in a confident mood after four consecutive draws, and they were up against a West Ham side that was under pressure after losing their opening three home games.
However, despite playing well for the first 35 minutes, the game deteriorated into our worst performance of the season.
Ipswich started in the worst possible fashion, conceding after just one minute.
Phillips' under-hit pass was intercepted, and Antonio clinically converted a simple low ball from Bowen across the box.
Our reaction to conceding so early was fantastic. After just six minutes we found ourselves level courtesy of the main man upfront, Liam Delap, who provided the goods yet again. Picking up a loose ball from a corner, he took a smart touch to send Paqueta and hit an instinctive near-post finish, which Areola could only palm into the roof of the net.
It was a chaotic and fast start, with both teams cancelling each other out early doors.
Both teams matching each other
The next thirty minutes were very even. The Hammers had the possession advantage, but little happened in terms of chances created.
This changed 10 minutes before the first half ended when both teams had fantastic headed chances one minute apart.
Firstly, Davis delivered a textbook free kick on a plate for Greaves, who had a free header on the edge of the six-yard box but could not hit the target. He really should have done better.
Down the other end, Antonio whipped in a dangerous ball that caught Muric off guard and left him in no man's land. Fortunately for Town, Kudus could only convert his header onto the post.
Ipswich end of first half collapse
Town totally lost the plot at the end of the first half, and it all stemmed from naive playing out from the back.
West Ham pressed very high and, instead of playing long, Muric passed to Morsy on the penalty spot, who tried his usual pass to the side only to find Paqueta, handing the Hammers a golden opportunity. O’Shea did superbly to get back on the line and block Soucek’s goal-bound effort.
This got the home crowd going and provoked a West Ham onslaught, and they got the goal their dominance in the last five minutes of the half deserved.
Emerson whipped in an excellent cross for Antonio, whose bullet header crashed against the crossbar, possibly with a touch from Muric. Kudus was the first to react, and he leapt like a salmon to convert the rebound header.
Costly mistake
The Tractor Boys needed a calm start to the second half to ease themselves back into the frame, but instead, we conceded one of the worst goals I have witnessed under McKenna.
Despite being under no pressure, Johnson, filling big boots in the absence of the injured Tuanzebe, played a shambolic looped-back pass to Muric, putting his keeper under huge pressure.
With hindsight, it would have been better for Muric to try to volley the ball, but he took a heavy touch, allowing Antonio to pounce. Muric did enough to divert it away to Bowen on the wing. Bowen still had a lot to do, but, finding himself isolated one-on-one with Phillips, Bowen did what he does best and cut inside, wrapping a delightful finish into the far corner.
Phillips should have done more to stop him and made it too easy for Bowen to get his shot away. It was a disastrous start to the second half, and West Ham’s fans, who are quick to get on their team’s back when they’re unhappy, were now jubilant.
The final nail in the coffin
Both teams had further good chances.
Firstly, in the 58th minute, Kudus nearly doubled his tally for the day, hooking a shot towards goal, but Muric did brilliantly to paw the ball away from danger. Before the fourth goal, Ipswich had a nice five-minute spell of dominance and were close to taking advantage of this when Burns whipped an inviting-looking cross, which Delap attacked, but Areola got down low and clawed it away.
The fourth goal summed up Town’s performance. Johnson's questionable marking caused some West Ham players to queue at the back post. A totally free Paqueta converted another devastating pass across from Bowen at the back post.
This was the final straw for Ipswich, who, for the first time this season, put in a poor performance in almost all departments.
Masters of our own downfall
All four goals were avoidable; the way we defended our box was extremely poor. The first goal stemmed from a basic error from Phillips, and a player of his experience should know not to mess around at the start of a game.
Away from home in the Prem, we have to start tight and compact, easing our way into games. Giving up a goal so early set the tone for the game, although we did react well and pull ourselves level.
Giving up a big chance by playing out from the back also almost cost us. This tactic has been a key part of Mckenna's style, but there is a big step up in quality in how high and aggressively teams press at this level, and if we get minor details wrong, we will likely be punished, especially away from home.
Burnley last season and Southampton so far this season have both suffered from persistently playing out and making mistakes.
The third goal was a disaster class all round, particularly given that Town were very much in the game at only 2-1 down.
There were three big errors:
Johnson’s terrible looped back pass
Muric’s loose touch
Phillips allowing Bowen to cut in so easily
Johnson has to take the majority of the blame, as his casual pass kicked it all off. The marking on the fourth goal was also extremely lax. Leaving two players free at the back post allowed West Ham to walk the ball into the net. Many lessons were learned, which must be fixed over the international break.
No Tuanzebe, no party
We would not have conceded four goals if Tuanzebe had been fit to start. He has been a standout player this season, and the whole defence looked lost without him. Concerningly, he has picked up a freakish hand injury that required surgery and will potentially be out for more than a couple of weeks. We will have to find a solution to adapt without him because the drop-off in quality between him and Johnson is substantial.
Johnson’s positioning has been a concern since arriving, and I hoped he would have somewhat grasped the role by now. However, this was not the case, and he was still too narrow and overly aggressive in the majority of his actions.
At this moment, I would prefer Harry Clarke over Johnson. Clarke also had issues positionally last season but improved as the season went on and deserves a crack at the Premier League.
Although unlikely to happen, I am not against using O’Shea at right back as a short-term fix because he has experience playing there for Ireland. I am not especially keen on either Johnson or Clarke, and O’Shea could provide defensive solidity in that role.
Either way, Tuanzebe is a massive loss, and fingers crossed he will be back soon.
Is it time to bring back some of the tried and trusted old guard?
Poor Conor Chaplin has played just 32 minutes of football since the season's opening game. If Hutchinson were performing at a high level, it would justify Chaplain’s absence, but he has been off the pace and does not look comfortable in his central attacking midfield role.
I would like to see Chaplin get more minutes. He always has a goal in him, and we’ve missed his link-up play with Burns. It would be intriguing to see if they can make it work at the highest level.
Woolfenden can also count himself unlucky that he was taken out of the team. With Tuanzebe’s injury, it might make sense to revert to the back five with Greaves, Woolfenden, and O’Shea as the back three to shore things up defensively. We have missed his calming presence at the back.
Broadhead has yet to make a matchday squad, but I believe he can still make an impact. McKenna has been persistent with Szmodics at left wing, but it is evident that his profile is not that of a left winger but of a centre-attacking midfielder, and it would be nice to see the Welshman involved in the frame sooner rather than later.
Moment of the match
It was not a positive moment, but Johnson’s backpass for their third goal was the game's key moment. Had we stayed at 2-1 for longer, there’s every chance we might have come back into the game. Going 3-1 down so early in the second half seemed to suck the life out of our performance.
Next up
The biggest game of the season so far, which could be categorised in the must-win territory, is against fellow strugglers Everton. A reaction is needed, and at Portman Road, these are the types of fixtures that are non-negotiable to pick up points because getting points on the road is going to be a big ask.
The international break has come at a good time and will give McKenna plenty of time to conjure up a game plan.
Player ratings: Muric 6, Johnson 4, O’Shea 6, Greaves 5, Davis 6, Morsy 4, Phillips 4, Burns 5, Hutchinson 4, Clarke 5, Delap 7 (MOTM)
