Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna felt his team was more deserving of the victory in the Premier League contest against Manchester United.
All eyes were on Ruben Amorim on Saturday afternoon as the Portuguese tactician was making his managerial debut for the Red Devils.
The encounter started smoothly for the former Sporting CP boss as Marcus Rasford stunned the home supporters at Portman Road by scoring after just 81 seconds.
Nevertheless, the home side regained their composure despite the early blow, and managed to earn a point thanks to Omari Hutchinson’s equalizer in the 43rd minute.
Moreover, Ipswich could had several dangerous chances that were thwarted by exceptional saves from Andre Onana.
Therefore, McKenna argues his team could have emerged victorious had they been able to pounce on their goal-scoring opportunities.
“We could have won the game, we finished the first half in the ascendancy and deserved to be at least level,” said the 38-year-old in his post-match interview with BBC Sport.
Kieran McKenna Felt Ipswich Could Have Beaten Manchester United
“The second half was competitive, we had a few big chances but had to be disciplined with our defending. On another day we could have won it. But if you concede an early goal, the game could have run away from us so credit to the players.”
“When we have a setback then everyone responds really well and doubled down on what we needed to do. As the half went on we got more aggressive and more brave.”
McKenna spent several years at Manchester United, serving as a scout, U18 manager, and assistant manager at the first team, working with the likes of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Nevertheless, he played down his past at Old Trafford, insisting it was all about Ipswich on Sunday.
“Everyone knows my history with the club but today was about Ipswich, the players and the supporters having Manchester United come to the stadium for the first time in 22 years and representing themselves really well.”
Discussion about this post