Ipswich Town Under-21s boss John McGreal hails ‘invaluable experience’ for side against Borussia Mönchengladbach

Ipswich Town Under-21s manager John McGreal labelled his side’s test with Borussia Mönchengladbach today as an ‘invaluable experience’ that his players ‘really grabbed’.

The Blues announced last night that the club’s younger players will face Die Fohlen in Germany to ‘allow the majority of Kieran McKenna’s squad to play significant minutes as a unit’ when they face Hoffenheim in Kufstein tomorrow (12.30pm BST).

The Bundesliga outfit ran out 3-1 winners in Heimstetten, Germany, but Town’s players put in a valiant effort against a strong Mönchengladbach side.

“I’m chuffed to bits,” said McGreal, speaking to TownTv on his side’s performance.

“It could be a daunting day when you look at it but I think we’ve gone into it with out eyes wide shut as such. We haven’t put too much pressure on the boys, we trained hard throughout the week and when the opportunity arose I thought they really grabbed it.

“It’s an invaluable experience. As I say, we’re developing (our) football and to put our wits against a Bundesliga team, it’s brilliant work for them.

“It will be something to cherish. When we get ourselves back on the plane tonight, (the players will realise) what a performance they have actually put in today.

“We haven’t sat off, we’ve actually gone to attack, we’ve gone for a high press and we tried to mirror what our first team do.

“We don’t want to get away from what our first team do, so that’s what we try to with our boys – get them on the front foot, try and take the ball in pressured areas.

“To concede three set plays is a bit disappointing, but again we can learn from that. We’ll use that as a really good development game for ourselves.”

The Blues, who fielded just one player with first-team minutes in a Town shirt, Cieran Slicker, took the lead in the contest through Leon Ayinde, but Gladbach turned the match around by half-time, before adding their third after the break.

When asked what else impressed him about his team’s display, McGreal said: “I thought tactically we were very good, I thought the shape was very good.

“The technical aspects, we need to move the ball quicker obviously, because you’re coming up against that physical aspect that can take the ball off you quite quickly.

“That’s another learning curve. We can get tonnes from that footage today, from the analysis, and it’s a great platform for the boys this season.

“The dressing room is really buzzing at the moment. They’re a tight group at times, and you can see that at times, they’re not showing away, they’re getting involved.

“I thought today they were up for the game and they proved that with the performance.”