Ipswich Town gave as good as they got in their first home friendly of the summer as they went down 2-1 to West Ham United.

The Premier League side moved into a two-goal lead thanks to efforts from Kurt Zouma and Daniel Chesters, but the Blues were always in the contest and found a goal of their own through substitute Kane Vincent-Young with a little under 15 minutes to go.

They couldn’t find an equaliser, despite raising both their own intensity levels and the crowd’s involvement during the closing stages, but boss Kieran McKenna will have been pleased with his side’s performance.

The Town manager gave 60 minutes to the majority of his starters, with a handful departing at the break, before ultimately changing his entire XI by the end of the game and giving vital minutes as the Blues work their way towards the start of competitive action.

Next up for Ipswich is a busy Saturday, which sees one Town side face Crystal Palace at their training ground in the morning, before another takes on AFC Wimbledon in front of supporters at Plough Lane.

McKenna named a side which included two of Town’s new signings from the start, in Freddie Ladapo and Dominic Ball, with both Greg Leigh and Tyreece John-Jules beginning on the bench. They were joined by George Edmundson, Lee Evans and Kayden Jackson, who returned to action for the first time after recovering from injuries which ended their 2021/22 campaigns.

Flynn Downes made his first appearance in a West Ham shirt, against the club where his completed his football education, and was in the thick of the action early as he was beaten by Sone Aluko and then resorted to chopping the Town man down as he looked to scamper away from him.

Both sides were playing some neat passes in midfield without overly threatening their opponents’ area, before Conor Chaplin had an effort deflected wide for a corner. Town took that short and soon lost the ball, with West Ham breaking and Janoi Donacien needing to get back well and perfectly-time a tackle to rob Chesters inside the penalty area.

But it was Town who should really have taken the lead with a break of their own moments later.

Downes, who had been going quietly about his business, was robbed on the edge of the Ipswich box, with Sam Morsy claiming possession and threading Ladapo through superbly. The striker charged through on goal from inside his own half but, after picking his spot from the edge of the penalty area, could only find the outside of the post.

Michail Antonio used all of his power to hold off Cameron Burgess inside the box, before thumping a shot of his own against the outside of Christian Walton’s post.

The Town keeper had it covered but was soon beaten when a short corner was eventually clipped into the box, where Zouma first saw a header saved by Walton before stabbing the rebound into the net to give the visitors the lead.

The Premier League side held their advantage, heading into the break, at which point McKenna introduced Corrie Ndaba, Greg Leigh and Lee Evans in place of Cameron Burgess, Matt Penney and Ball.

Town began the half with a decent move which saw Conor Chaplin head down into the ground and into the arms of Lukasz Fabianski, before Evans took aim from 25-yards but sent his shot flying over the top of the bar.

Antonio had a near-identical chance to Ladapo’s in the first half, as he was played through by Harrison Ashby, but just like the Ipswich striker he couldn’t find the net, as Ndaba got back well to thwart him.

The Blues made their seven remaining outfield changes, leaving Walton as the only remaining starter. The Town stopper was beaten for a second time soon after. Harrison Ashby’s driven shot, against the post, was the source of it, with Chesters rolling the rebound home into the unguarded net as Walton was left on the floor.

Vaclav Hladky came on for the final 17 minutes in place of Walton, just before Town found their way back into the game as Vincent-Young took advantage of a looped ball inside the West Ham box, which the visitors watched the Town man meet and guide into the far corner of the net.

East Anglian Daily Times: Conor Chaplin did I first my shot.Conor Chaplin did I first my shot. (Image: Steve Waller)

Town applied some pressure in the closing minutes of the contest but couldn’t find an equaliser, on a night where both sides will have taken plenty of positives.

Ipswich Town: Walton (Hladky, 73); Donacien (El Mizouni, 62), Woolfenden (Edmundson, 62), Burgess (Ndaba, 46); Burns (Vincent-Young, 62), Penney (Leigh, 46), Morsy (Harper, 62), Ball (Evans, 46); Aluko (John-Jules, 62), Chaplin (Humphreys, 62), Ladapo (Jackson, 62)

West Ham United: Fabianski; Ashby, Alese, Zouma, Cresswell; Coventry, Downes, Chesters; Okoflex (Earthy, 90), Fornals, Antonion

Subs: Hegyi, Casey, Forbes, Woods

Att: 15,129 (1,528 away).