Ipswich Town: Sam Morsy praises fans after Cardiff City defeat

The Blues went ahead with just over 10 minutes to play as Kieffer Moore found the back of the net, having battled hard in a game of very few chances. However, they surrendered their lead deep into stoppage time, losing in the Championship for just the fifth time this season.

“We worked hard to take the lead, but unfortunately we couldn’t hold it,” Morsy said after the game.

“We conceded two goals which we’ll be disappointed with by our standards, but that’s football. We’ve won plenty of games late and that can happen if you’re not completely dialled-in, which I don’t think we completely were in the last bit.

“Obviously there’s a lot going on in the game, but we felt could’ve done a little bit better for both goals. We’ll improve, we’ll learn from it and we’ll come back stronger.

“It’s just moments. They didn’t really have any sort of chances, it was just two moments that we had to deal with better, the details.

The Blues conceded twice in stoppage time to fall to their fifth defeat of the Championship season (Image: Ross Halls)

“We’ll look back at it, we’ll improve. Every time we’ve had a knock, we’ve come back stronger.”

As the clock ticked towards full time, home fans began to filter out of the stadium. They all thought it was over, and at that stage, Morsy admitted that he did too.

Even when eight minutes of stoppage time were announced, Town would’ve been confident that they could see out the win. They’ve done it numerous times before, often on the road, but this was a bridge too far.

“You have to go to the last whistle,” Morsy admitted. “And it’s moments in games. They’re on a good run of form themselves and no one’s going to roll over for us.

“It’s not a nice feeling at all, but it’ll motivate us to come back better and stronger.”

Bouncing back will be key. This isn’t the first game that Ipswich have lost this season and there’s no guarantee it’ll be the last, but in a promotion race that’s as fierce and competitive as this one, it’s vital that Town maintain the performance levels that have got them to this point.

“We’ve done that for a couple of years now,” Morsy argued. “That’s been the motto, the mantra for how you react, really. It’s not our day today, but we’ll work hard, dust ourselves down, improve, review it.

Leeds United's win against Sheffield Wednesday means that Ipswich have dropped out of the top two (Image: Ross Halls)

“We’ll do all the things. It’s not going to be one of those where we say ‘it’s one of those things’. We’ll work hard to improve it and come back stronger, hopefully.”

One notable aspect of the game was the away support. 3,200 fans departed for South Wales, many of whom left before 6am on the day of the game, making the long journey for a lunchtime kick-off. Housed in a corner behind the goal, they made an incredible noise and backed the team throughout – even after their late collapse.

“Incredible support again,” Morsy stated. “They support us so well, you can see at the end. We’ve conceded two late goals and lost, but they’re still so positive and still with us.

“It’s extra motivation, to be honest. You look over and see how behind the players they are and how behind the club they are.

“Rest assured, we’ll keep working as a club to keep improving and see where we get to.”