Despite losing 2-1 against Fortuna Dusseldorf at Portman Road, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was pleased to get some quality minutes into his players’ legs.
The Blues stepped up their preseason training by meeting their old friends from Germany, who took an early lead due to Danny Schmidt’s goal.
Marcus Harness, who replaced the injured Wes Burns in the first half, equalised just two minutes into the second half, but Tim Roßmann’s low shot secured the visitors’ victory in Suffolk.
“It was a useful workout,” McKenna said after the game. “Obviously, we didn’t play our best. I thought we struggled with some of our pressing and off-the-ball play throughout the game, but that is normal and healthy at this point in the season.
“Of course, you don’t prepare for a game at this stage of the season like you would for a league campaign, so there were some organisational challenges, but there were also some individual and unit things for us to work on against a team that played very well and is further along in their preparation for us ahead of their league campaign, which begins next week.
“It was a useful workout and a great challenge. We’re waiting to see what happens with Wes’ ankle, but there were a lot of solid minutes in the legs otherwise.”
It’s crucial to note that Fortuna Dusseldorf are far further along in their preparations, with their 2. Bundesliga season beginning next week with a trip to Darmstadt.
Ipswich, on the other hand, has three weeks until their Premier League debut against Liverpool, which McKenna believes will be crucial for his team.
“The Premier League starts later than most other leagues, so that’s the nature of the fixtures, which is only a positive for sure,” said the coach. “We still have a few weeks to go, and we will need them in all aspects.
“We were playing a good team that was very close to being promoted last year and came prepared for the league the following week.” That was a great challenge for us, and I believe the boys felt it. “It was a tough game.”
The game also featured new players Ben Johnson, Jacob Greaves, Liam Delap, and Arijanet Muric in their debut minutes at Portman Road. The quartet excelled, and the experience of playing in front of fans alongside their new teammates will be extremely beneficial in the forthcoming season.
“We wanted to put all four of the boys who haven’t played here before into the starting lineup today to get them acclimatised as soon as possible,” says McKenna. “That’s primarily through stadium play, but in the situations of Jacob, Liam, and Aro, they haven’t spent as much time with the group.
“We wanted to throw everyone in today. We always expected there to be some understanding of wave-length difficulties, but that is normal when new players arrive, so we’ll work on it.
“There were some nice things in the performance from those boys as well as the lads who have been here, and there are some things for everyone to work on. That’s quite common for this time of year.”
