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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
John McDougall

'A blow' - Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna's claim on Bolton Wanderers penalty in League One draw

Kieran McKenna felt the penalty awarded to Bolton Wanderers against his Ipswich Town side was 'a little bit soft' and felt his team had 'more than enough' chances to pick up three points.

Wanderers travelled to Portman Road to take on the Tractor Boys in the opening day of the campaign. The Whites did the double over the Suffolk outfit last season.

They took the lead after 25 minutes when Leif Davis bundled over Conor Bradley in the box for a penalty. Aaron Morley stepped up to coolly slot home from the spot.

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt on Ipswich Town draw, goal condeded and resilience on the road

But the Tractor Boys equalised before half-time when Conor Chaplin's corner was met by Lee Evans to tuck home an effort which Wanderers ought to have defended better. The hosts were on top after the break but Wanderers rode out periods of pressure to secure a good point on the road against one of the division's top sides.

McKenna gave his verdict on the encounter and felt his side did 'more than enough' to win the clash. He also had his say on the penalty which referee Samuel Barrott awardeed to Bolton

He told the East Anglian Daily Times : "I thought we did more than enough to win the game. Especially in the second half, but even in the latter stages of the first half.

"It was a quite edgy first 20 minutes. That can happen. It's understandable. It's human emotions playing in front of a crowd of that size after the build-up to the game.

"There was nothing really in the game, very bitty, not many balls in play and obviously we got a blow with the penalty. To my eye that was a little bit soft and came from nothing.

"The most pleasing thing was the response of the players and the crowd. Everyone stayed really positive and together when it would have been really easy to drop their heads and get disappointed.

"It was a well-worked equaliser and then we started to find our rhythm at the end of the first half. Second half, once the ball was able to stay in play a little bit longer and we could find a bit of flow I thought our football and our physicality really took over.

"We had more than enough chances to win a game of this level. It just wasn't to be on the day, but I'm sure we'll keep improving from here."

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