Jack Lankester and Jon Nolan receive special praise after Ipswich Town win 2-0 at Bristol Rovers
Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert paid tribute to Jack Lankester and Jon Nolan after the duo made key contributions in the Blues' 2-0 victory at Bristol Rovers, writes Mikey Hale.
Bury St Edmunds-raised Lankester made his long-awaited return to the side from back injuries as a second half substitute and saw his in-swinging cross headed into the back of the net by Rovers defender Max Ehmer with 10 minutes remaining at the Memorial Stadium.
He turned provider nine minutes later, playing in fellow midfielder Nolan who rounded a defender before coolly slotting his left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
"His (Lankester's) left foot is very good," Paul told iFollow Ipswich. "That was his first league game in nearly two years so big congratulations go to him.
"I thought Jon Nolan was superb. He is really on the top of his game at the minute. The run from Nolo for the goal, beating his guy and the goalkeeper was great.
"He was absolutely brilliant. He’s a really good player. The way he is playing at the minute is top class.
Lambert said that there is a 'good feeling' amongst the team after Town secured their first away victory of the season at the first attempt, having also won their League One opener at home to Wigan Athletic.
"We were the better team," he said.
"We started the game really well and we looked comfortable.
"The dominance of the game was very good. In the second half we forced the issue a lot more. There were a load of chances in the last 20 minutes.
"We’ve had a lot of games in a short space of time so it’s a big credit to the team. There’s a lot of confidence and good feeling amongst the team.
"The subs that came on were excellent as well and helped the guys and the three coming off also made a big contribution."
Town are without a mid-week fixture this week with their next match seeing Rochdale visit Portman Road in the league on Saturday (3pm).
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