Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was thrilled with his side’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Bristol City which kept the Tractor Boys in second place in the Championship.
He said it was a “difficult game” against a “well-organised” team, with the second half opening up with the substitutes making a massive difference.
Meanwhile, Bristol City’s head coach Liam Manning was disappointed not to come away with a point, saying that the goals they conceded were “soft” and when you “switch off you get punished”.
An 89th-minute goal from Leif Davis ensured Ipswich retained second place and kept pace with league leaders Leicester.
All five goals came in a frantic second half, with the Robins taking the lead through Anis Mehmeti only for substitute Ali Al-Hamadi to equalise.
Tommy Conway put City back in front but Conor Chaplin drew the teams level with a header from a free-kick before Davis sealed the three points for Town with his first goal of the season.
Al-Hamadi had a penalty saved by City’s goalkeeper Max O’Leary but he was unable to stop Ipswich posting their sixth victory on the trot.
McKenna said: “It was a brilliant way to win a football match. A night and an end to a match and an atmosphere we have to enjoy and some quality that was shown in the second half that we have to be very, very proud of.
“Another really good night for the football club.
“It was a difficult game, we knew that it was going to be.
“They (City) are very good at blocking off areas you want to get to, they are athletic, disciplined and well-organised and they are a hard team to play against and they carry a threat on the counter and they showed that tonight and against other teams in the division and shown that against a couple of Premier League teams in the FA Cup.
“It was a difficult game.”
Manning said his immediate reaction was that his side had to “come away with something”.
He said: “I thought the game plan worked in terms of frustrating them and controlling space where we wanted for 90 per cent of the game.
“We did a terrific job to go ahead and then what you get is key bits of momentum in the game, we had a couple of half-chances. If you go two (in front) it changes the emotional state of the lads and obviously they make the four changes and it shifts back and that cost us in the end.
“We get emotional and we get caught up in the game a little bit and we end up switching off and not doing what we need to do and when you’re playing against a strong side like them with their attacking threats you switch off and you get punished.”
He added that there were so many positives for him from the game but to “come away with nothing is a frustrating thing”.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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