Ipswich Town: Terry Hunt on Wes Burns goal and Coventry win

I’m not surprised, given the flowing move which led to the incredible finish. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve watched it, and it was good to see Sky Sports giving it the love it so richly deserves.

Up until now, I’ve always put Paul Mariner’s winning goal in the 1981 FA Cup tie against Villa as my best Town goal. A sublime team goal involving the very best of that superb Bobby Robson side, finished smartly by PM.

Burns’ goal certainly had a much more spectacular finish, so I think I’ll put it on a pedestal alongside the Mariner strike. Yes, a cop-out, I know, but I’m very happy to have two favourite Town goals!

Up until now, Terry had a 1981 goal from Paul Mariner as his favourite (Image: Archant)
Football is full of ironies, isn’t it? Last week, I was ridiculing West Brom’s Matt Phillips for missing an absolute sitter because he didn’t trust his weaker foot. One week on, and Burns is getting widespread adulation!

That goal was the icing on the cake of another good performance, and a great result. After the disappointment at West Brom, we really needed those two home wins and, in truth, we never really looked in much danger.

There’s been a bit of chit-chat about us “dropping off” in the second half of both games against Millwall and Coventry. Of course we’d all love Town to keep playing at their best for the full 90 minutes (more like 100 these days) but is that realistic?

A minor disappointment in both games was conceding late goals and losing our clean sheet. Well, against Coventry, I’m convinced that Brandon Williams was fouled before he headed into his own net.

More important was the fact that the hugely influential Massimo Luongo will miss the trip to Middlesbrough next weekend. You could see how disappointed the Australian powerhouse was to pick up his fifth booking of the season.

It means he won’t have the chance to show Boro what a mistake they made in letting him go for free. We are very grateful!! Luongo has become one of our most important players and we will miss him next Saturday.

Brandon Williams also misses that game, but I’m less concerned about that because Harry Clarke has produced two excellent performances in the last week.

Terry's been impressed with Harry Clarke recently (Image: Steve Waller)
Talking of Clarke, we shouldn’t overlook the part he played in Burns’ wonder goal. His overlapping run took the attention of two Coventry defenders and created the space for Burns. Don’t forget the right-back!

Another player who deserves high praise is George Hirst. Amid some of our wonderful, flowing play and the great goals we are scoring on a regular basis, I feel that Hirst sometimes doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

He battles away on his own up front, using his skill and strength to create platforms for others to use.

I’m delighted that in the last two home games his contributions have been fully appreciated. First there was the lovely cushioned header to set up Conor Chaplin’s goal against Millwall, then the pace, power and composed finish for his goal on Saturday.

Terry's a big fan of George Hirst (Image: Steve Waller)

He is a top centre-forward at this level. You can certainly see the difference when he goes off towards the end of games.

So, that’s the first December game out of the way, just the six to go! We will certainly need to use our full squad as the matches come thick and fast, including the return of the East Anglian derby and the Boxing Day visit of leaders Leicester.

We are nearing the second anniversary of Kieran McKenna’s arrival at Portman Road. I’m sure a great deal will be written and said nearer the time, but I’ll get ahead of the pack.

When McKenna’s appointment was announced, he was a total unknown to me. I vaguely recognised him from his time sitting next to the manager on the bench at Old Trafford, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I don’t suppose I was the only one.

Kieran McKenna is approaching his second anniversary (Image: Steve Waller)
What a job he’s done, and is doing. The stats are incredible, we’re playing some fantastic football, he’s transformed several players, and the love for Ipswich Town Football Club is back.

I struggle to think of a manager who has made such an extraordinary impact in his first job.