Saturday 13 August 2016 21:59, UK
Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy admitted he was baffled by his side's second-half collapse at the hands of a resurgent Brentford on Saturday.
Two John Egan goals in eight minutes after the break earned Brentford the victory and left McCarthy scratching his head at the manner of the defeat.
Home debutant Egan rose unmarked at the back post to power a header home two minutes after the restart and was in the right place minutes later to steer Nico Yennaris' parried shot into an empty net.
"I didn't see that being the scoreline at half-time. We gave the first goal away from a set piece and seemed to unravel after that and looked like conceding another one which is unlike us," McCarthy said.
"When we did concede it made it difficult for us. I don't like conceding goals from set pieces but I'm not sure what we do about it. People have jobs to do and if they do them correctly, the ball doesn't end up in the back of the net."
Ipswich dominated the early proceedings without carving out any clear-cut openings, but should have made more of a flurry of half-chances that came their way.
McCarthy added: "We mark man-for-man and there's no right or wrong way. Their first goal was far too simple. Straight after the game it's difficult to analyse why we didn't respond. It didn't knock the stuffing out of us but it gave them a lift."
Brentford boss Dean Smith admitted his side had to dig in for the first 25 minutes as Ipswich pressed.
"We competed and won second balls but then gave it away cheaply," Smith said. "Then towards the end of the first half we had some patches of play that were better. We got the goal which gave us a lot of confidence and then after that we saw glimpses of what we can do."
He said the result should send a clear message to his players, many of them signed from lower leagues, that they are a match for the best footballing sides in the division.
"I've just told them that they are a really good Championship team and they have to believe in themselves," Smith added.
"Ipswich are a good footballing outfit and we knew we had to compete, which we did. I think maybe 1-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the game but I'm not complaining."
Smith hailed the hard work of lone centre-forward Scott Hogan, who gave Town's two centre-backs plenty to think about all afternoon without getting his reward.
He said: "Scott worked tirelessly up there and I thought the midfield chased everything and protected our two at the back well."
Smith said he was still looking to strengthen his squad with wide players, but an easing injury list and the return from the Olympics of Denmark striker Lasse Vibe will bolster his squad.
He joked: "Lasse will strengthen the squad, so it will be good to have him back. Then I can take the Brazil and Nigerian flags off all my social media posts."
