3 things we clearly learnt about Ipswich Town after their 1-0 win vs QPR
The big takeaways from Ipswich’s win over QPR on Saturday
Ipswich Town maintain perfect start to Championship season with win over QPR, putting them at the top of the table.
QPR unlucky not to score, highlighting the need for Ipswich to improve defensively.
Ipswich’s style of play and attacking prowess on display, but they still need to make improvements and potentially make signings to compete for Premier League promotion.
Ipswich Town earned all three points away from home on Saturday to maintain their 100 per cent start to life back in the Championship.
Kieran McKenna’s side have won all three of their league games to start the new campaign, putting them top of the table on goal difference.
QPR were the latest to suffer defeat at the hands of the Tractor Boys, who also earned wins over Sunderland and Stoke City so far this season.
Conor Chaplin’s strike in the 79th minute proved the difference between Ipswich and the London side at Loftus Road on Saturday.
Ipswich will be pleased to have made such a strong start to the term, with many tipping them pre-season to compete for promotion to the Premier League at the first attempt.
What did we learn from Ipswich Town’s win over QPR?
It is still far too early in the campaign to be weighing up the true merits of those predictions, with the first month of the season still not even over yet.
Here we look at three things we clearly learned from the team’s 1-0 win over QPR.
Fortunate clean sheet
QPR can consider themselves unlucky not to have come away with at least a goal to their names.
It was an open contest, and Ipswich created their own fair share of chances as well, but QPR found their way through the Ipswich defence on numerous occasions.
Sinclair Armstrong hit both posts with a chance that arose from sloppy play out from the back in the second half.
Vaclav Hladky was called upon multiple times, making a late save on the line from a long-range shot attempt after being caught off his line.
Ipswich won’t get so lucky every time, so will need to iron out some of their sloppy defensive mistakes if they are to really compete for a top six place this season.
Ipswich can still attack with style
Having said that, Ipswich played with a similar swagger that we saw from them in League One.
There were some question marks over whether the team was capable of this in the Championship, especially after struggling to control the game away to Sunderland in their opening fixture.
But Ipswich’s sharp, quick passing football was on display at Loftus Road, much to their credit.
Being able to play like this away from home in the second tier is a testament to the work McKenna and his players have done over the last year or so.
Improvements still needed
Overall, Ipswich will need to improve if they are to compete for a place in the Premier League this year.
The summer transfer window is still open, which offers the club the chance to make some last-minute signings.
It is a sign of how well the club has done since appointing McKenna that talk of the top flight so soon after promotion isn’t being dismissed by fans and pundits alike.
And it is a sign of their ambition that they have not backed down from that talk.
However, if Ipswich are serious about getting into the play-offs then perhaps another signing or two should be made in the coming couple of weeks.
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