Tottenham Hotspur 1 Ipswich Town 2: Goalscorer Sammie Szmodics dedicates first Premier League win to relentless manager Kieran McKenna
Ipswich Town forward Sammie Szmodics says the Blues owed it to manager Kieran McKenna after earning their first Premier League win of the season with a stunning 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues climbed out of the relegation zone after victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what was Town’s first top flight victory since April 2002.
Despite some promising performances, the Blues arrived in north London still chasing a first three points of the campaign, something which Szmodics believed gave the team confidence that victory was coming.
It duly came as Town were pretty in pink – wearing the Ed Sheeran-designed third kit for the first time – against Ange Postecoglou’s side, a result Szmodics claims was fully deserved.
“Amazing,” he said.“I think we thoroughly deserved it, the performances recently have been really good. It’s a tough place to come and we deserved to get the three points.
“We’ve been on the end of goals late on and I think we defended amazing from minute one to minute 98.
“That’s what gives us the platform to go and score goals and we know we can score goals at this level.It’s a big relief to get that first win.
“The manager said we’re not going to come here and sit back, we’re going to press them when we can and we’ve got the mobility and energy to do that.In the first half we played really well and deserved to be 2-0 up and it could have been more.
“They’re a tough team to play against, they’re always going to score goals and I thought we saw the game out amazingly and thoroughly deserved the win.
“The manager’s amazing. He puts us to work and makes us work really hard but he believes in us.
“We owe it to him today, that was all his gameplan and I think we’ve put it out there down to a tee and we’ve got that win for him and the fans because their support throughout the whole 11 games has been amazing and today was no different.
“It’s amazing scenes, but we’ve worked so hard in the last 11 games and we can have a nice break now for the internationals.
“The fans travel in their numbers, this is their dream as much as ours. To come to away arenas like this and watch your team win, there can’t be any better feeling so that’s for them.”
The Blues had conceded deep into stoppage time in each of their previous two fixtures, with Brentford denying Town a point before Leicester City cruelly denying them all three a week ago.
But Szmodics, one of 12 new arrivals at Portman Road this summer, says Town have learned their lessons from those experiences have, highlighting the importance of getting to half-time with their 2-0 lead still intact.
He said: “It’s just about seeing it off. At Brentford we were 2-0 up and conceded two, but we thoroughly deserved the win today. We saw it out and if we have that defensive platform you can go and attack teams and score goals which is what we did.
“It’s just knowing that we deserve to be at this level. We deserve to be here and we’ve learned from our mistakes about conceding late goals. We thoroughly deserve it and it’s a massive three points for us.
“We’ve deserved wins in the last 11 games and we’ve been on the wrong end of these goals late on. To come to an arena like this and put in a performance like that gives us the relief and confidence to go into games now we’ve got that first win under our belt.
“Now we can push on and we believe we’re not just here to make the numbers up. We’re here to compete so it was a fantastic day for us.
“That’s the platform. If we work hard defensively we know we’ll create chances and score goals and I think we done that down to a tee today.”
It was Szmodics’s opener that set McKenna’s men on their way. He acrobatically pounced on a falling ball after it fell to the former Blackburn Rovers man following Jens Cajuste’s cross for his third goal in Town colours.
“I can’t really remember the build-up,” he reflected.“It was behind me and it’s just something you practice in your garden.
“I found a bit more space than I thought I did have and you just attempt one of those things. I heard the roar and it’s an amazing feeling, it’s probably one of the best goals in one of the best stadiums I’ve ever scored in so I’m really pleased. I’ve never scored an overhead kick so I’ll take that!”
On an afternoon where the entire XI deserve immense credit, there was particular praise for the impact of two of Town’s younger regulars in Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson.
The in-form Delap netted his sixth goal of the season to double the Blues’ lead while Hutchinson was excellent once again, and Szmodics says a goal is coming for Town’s record signing.
He said: “It was such a mature performance for a 21-year-old. He knows when to carry the ball, he knows when to pass, he works tirelessly for the team.
“He thoroughly deserves to be where he is and he’s just waiting for that Premier League goal now.
“We’ve got young players, Liam and Omari up and coming and they’re brilliant, they want to learn, listen and work and they’re getting their rewards.
“Omari’s not scored yet but the work rate and the way he plays for this football club is amazing at such a young age, he’s just turned 21.
“Both of them have got a big future ahead and they thoroughly deserve to be here.”
Szmodics has started seven of Town’s 11 matches in the Premier League this season and says he is enjoying the challenge of being a Premier League regular for the first time in his career.
He also spoke about the external noise that has surrounded the Blues while they waited for that first win and how the squad have been able to deal with it.
“It is tough but it’s somewhere I feel like I belong,” he said.“I’ve played in every English league from League Two to the Premier League. Scoring goals in the Premier League now is like a dream come true for me, hopefully I can add many more.
“We’ve just got to ignore [external noise], you see all sorts on social media. People who have never kicked a ball in their life want to talk to us about winning games and scoring goals, it’s a completely different level to the Championship.
Read more: McKenna hails Town’s maiden win as ‘really significant step’
“So we’ve blocked that noise out, focus on us as a whole squad with managers, staff and fans. We just thoroughly deserved it as a whole today. The journey they’ve been on is amazing.
“To be brought in and be a part of this is even better for myself. We’re not here to make up the numbers, we’re here now and the relief is gone now we’ve got the first win. Hopefully we can build and add many more.”
Szmodics is now set to head off on international duty with the Republic of Ireland for UEFA Nations League clashes with Finland and England.
The clash with the Three Lions at Wembley Stadium in particular is one Szmodics is excited for.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the home of English football so to go there and play for my country against England will be a challenge like today was.
“Hopefully we can put in the same performance and get the same result. Some family in the away end and some in the home end so they can fight over where they’re going to sit.
“I’ve got eight caps now and I just want to keep adding more, I want to add an international goal. It’s a great setup down there with young players that are hungry to improve, I’m looking forward to a good week away with them.”
Read more: McKenna hails Town’s maiden win as ‘really significant step’ forward
Town will return from the break to host Manchester United in Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge before making the trip to high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Looking ahead to that and asked if now is a right time for a break, Szmodics said: “Probably not now we’ve got a win and we’ve got that momentum and confidence.
“The lads will have a nice rest, some lads will go away with their countries, hopefully no injuries and then we can build on that and look forward to another amazing game at Portman Road.
“It’s the confidence and the relief now that we’ve got the first win. The outside talk stops, we’re not 11 games without a win. We’ve come here today, put in a statement and beaten a fantastic Tottenham Hotspur team with the individual quality they have.
“It’s a relief and a round of applause for the lads because we work so hard and we thoroughly deserved that.”
