Ipswich 2-0 Burnley: Mick McCarthy pleased with attacking options
Tuesday 18 August 2015 23:30, UK
Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy hailed his attacking options after his side moved to the top of the fledgling Championship standings with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Burnley.
Freddie Sears celebrated his new four-year contract - signed hours before Tuesday night's match - with the opening goal, sharply poking home a cross from fellow frontman Brett Pitman.
The points were made safe five minutes later when David McGoldrick was gifted a free header from Ainsley Maitland-Niles' deep corner and Town's number 10 made no mistake.
After seeing his side continue their unbeaten start to the season, McCarthy heaped praise on his team, describing the performance of Arsenal loanee Maitland-Niles as "outstanding".
He said: "I think we are incredibly strong going forward and it is nice to have that strength in depth. I am delighted Freddie has signed a long contract. It is thoroughly deserved and reflects his status at the club.
"It was a good result and a good performance - I am happy with both. It was two very strong, powerful teams, playing good football and it was a case of who blinked first.
"Eighteen months ago, we shaded it against them but they won thanks to a great bit of quality from Scott Arfield. Tonight we showed that, especially with Freddie's goal."
At times, it seemed a dreary game was edging towards a goalless draw.
Burnley almost scored with just seven minutes played - Michael Kightly striking the far post with the rebound ending up in the hands of the relieved Bartosz Bialkowski - and then saw Jelle Vossen fail to trouble the Town goalkeeper from a good position.
After Sears and McGoldrick found the net, the home side were buoyant and they almost grabbed a third when Jonathan Douglas' volley whistled just over.
Burnley briefly threatened a grandstand finish when Michael Keane rose powerfully but his header was beaten away by Bialkowski.
After their relegation from the Premier League, Clarets boss Sean Dyche admitted his side were in transition.
"When you lose a number of big players, it is hard to expect it not to have an effect," he said. "It is about limiting that effect and rebuilding.
"Tonight's match was a reminder of the different challenges in the Championship.
"Overall, I thought they deserved it but only after the first goal went in. Before that, we had some good chances and dealt with their threat well. There was not a lot in it, but the opening goal changed everything."
The only negative for Ipswich was a suspected knee injury to winger Ryan Fraser in the first half - an incident which paved the way for McGoldrick's introduction - and a calf injury to Daryl Murphy which saw last season's Championship top scorer replaced at half-time.
