Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was delighted his side made it five wins in a row as they moved back up to second in the Sky Bet Championship with a 2-0 win at Plymouth.
A 63rd-minute own goal from Brendan Galloway and Kieffer Moore volley secured the win, while Argyle’s Mickel Miller hit a post and saw Town defender Luke Woolfenden clear his volley off the line.
McKenna said: “To win five in a row, when we have had some tough away games, that consistency is really pleasing.
“It was a really solid performance. Our organisation was good, our discipline was good and we were really competitive.
“We came out on top in more than our fair share of challenges and that gave us a really good foothold in the game in the first half.
“We knew it was going to be difficult. We knew we were going to have to stand up to a really strong home atmosphere and we had to stand up in difficult conditions, weather and pitch-wise.
“We did that really well and that gave us a really good platform at half-time to know we could push on…if we kept doing the right things, kept limiting their threats, we knew the chances would come our way and it was another really good second-half performance.
“We haven’t had too many games like this one. It was quite stop-start.
“We always back our fitness, our style, to some point it was not easy in the first half.
“We really felt confident that it would come good for us in the second half.
“The goal took a really big deflection but we had created chances either side of the goal so we felt a goal was coming.”
Argyle head coach Ian Foster said: “We don’t like losing games of football, especially here at Home Park, and obviously we are just really disappointed with the manner of the goal.
“It’s an unfortunate one for us. The shot was going wayward and it’s just hit Brendan and unfortunately ricocheted into the goal.
“The manner of that type of goal can affect you psychologically.
“It’s been an incredibly tough run of games here and we’ve given it our best shot, two of those teams we have played have shared second place today.
“We’ve tried to have right go – and I think we’ve done that again.
“We have shown that we can bounce back, so hopefully we can do that on Tuesday at Sheffield Wednesday.
“The players have been outstanding, fabulous.
“The first goal has just taken the wind out of our sails a little bit.
“If you look at their record, Ipswich have lost the least amount of games. We managed to stick with them for 63 minutes and then conceded a freak goal.
“If I have one criticism of us we didn’t react positively enough to that goal, and I get it, but you have to bounce back and show a little more resilience and character. But I don’t want to be too critical of the players.
“We can only take control of the next 90 minutes. We go to Sheffield Wednesday with confidence. We know the job in hand and have to go up there and give it our best.
“We haven’t lacked belief in any game, we go into every game trying to win. Today was a disappointing one for us but we won’t get too down about it.
“It’s just about taking it one game at a time. We won’t dwell on it, we just move on and get excited about the next game.”
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
Slot hopes Jones 'recovers fast' after limping off against Betis
Arne Slot says Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury, after the midfielder was forced off during the Reds' 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
The Dutchman oversaw his first win since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the only goal in Pittsburgh.
It was the first match of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States, though it remains to be seen how much of a part Jones will play after he limped off on the half-hour mark.
However, Slot said the decision to withdraw the midfielder was precautionary.
"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Maybe he could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100%.
"In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. We hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.
"It's always a pity if he has to go off after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that, you could see that he was not completely free.
"It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions, so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go off.
Trey Nyoni replaced Jones for the remainder of the game, and Slot was pleased by the 17-year-old's impact.
"The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards.
"I think [Trey] did really well today, but it was only an hour. He was one of the reasons why we scored the goal, because he turned really quickly and [played] a spot-on pass in between the lines. And he was also involved in the biggest chance in the second half.
"We are really careful with him. So he doesn't join every session, and sometimes he goes off a bit earlier. You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.
I think there were a few positive things and, of course, a few things we have to improve. But the positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. I think we only conceded one big chance and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game.
"So, we controlled the game really well and, in between, we had a few good attacks where we created a few good chances and scored a good goal."
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