Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna said he was delighted to see Kyle Edwards bag his first goals for the club in tonight's 3-0 home win against Cambridge United.

The stubborn visitors sat deep and defended well during a goalless opening 70 minutes before Tyreece John-Jules broke the deadlock. Fellow substitute Edwards then saw a deep cross-cum-shot fly into the top corner, while his second was a fine outside of the boot finish inside the box.

"I'm delighted for him," said McKenna. "There's nothing better in the job than seeing players working really hard behind the scenes, trying to develop themselves mentally, tactically, physically and technically, having to be patient and then eventually getting the rewards.

"The players are delighted for him because they see how hard he's been working and his increasing improvements in training. He's a very popular character in the club and in the stands. He gives us something different to the rest of the group and we know he can be an important player.

"I'm happy for him, but he'll be the first to say I'm sure that's it's about pushing on now. Hopefully he can do that and start to fulfil some of his talent."

Reflecting on the game, the Blues boss said: "It was a difficult game as we knew it would be. There were lots of similarities to last year (a 1-0 home loss) in terms of their set-up. They came to frustrate and defend in numbers and they did that very well. They were very well organised, very athletic. So it was a challenge.

"We needed to be really patient. Of course if you don't get the early goal, which we could have got, then you have to find the right balance between being patient and being aggressive. You have to take risks, but not give the ball away cheaply. Most importantly you need to make sure your discipline is really good at the other end and that you don't give away too many cheap set plays and give them opportunities.

"I thought we did all of those things well. I thought we managed to keep the energy positive on the pitch. I thought the energy in the stands was good and the fans understood the context of the game and stuck with it. We got our just rewards in the end.

"The players who start the game have the responsibility to lead the team and play at a really high intensity on and off the ball. When teams come to defend in numbers there's not always going to be lots of big chances and spaces early in the game.

"But if we keep working with intensity and aggression then it's very hard for them to maintain that for 90 minutes. The players who come on will often be the ones that capitalise and have a lot more space up against tired defenders.

"Of course it proved that way on Saturday (in a 3-2 home win against Portsmouth) with Tyreece playing up front and putting in a really strong performance on and off the ball, then Freddie (Ladapo) comes on and has the opportunity to score. Tonight it worked the other way around.

"I thought Freddie put in a really good performance, his counter pressure was fantastic. Then the boys who come on have a tired defence to go against.

"Credit to the group for their mindset and knowing that starters and subs have equal roles in the team."