IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell said he always feared David Nugent would get the winner against his side today.
The Leicester City striker netted a deserved winner in a 2-1 victory for the Foxes, with the Blues – unbeaten in their previous eight home matches – wilting after the break.
Nugent has now scored nine goals in 10 games against Ipswich, netting in all six of his games at Portman Road for Portsmouth, Preston, England Under-21s and now Leicester.
The man Town fans love to hate cupped his ears provocatively to the North Stand following his 57th minute headed winner, with Jewell saying: “You always fear when the crowd boo because players like that just thrive on it – it always felt like he was going to score.”
Jason Scotland opened the scoring for Ipswich in the 43rd minute, but Leicester equalised against the run of play in first-half stoppage-time when Arran Lee-Barrett could only push a long-range Ben Marshall free-kick into his own net.
Jewell said: “First half we played well, we were in the ascendancy, were the far superior team, so to go in at half-time level was a right kick in the teeth.
“If it does go through the wall that’s disappointing, but he still should have saved it because it comes from a long way out. It was a cheap free-kick we gave away too.
“That was a kick in the teeth because it was virtually the last action of the half. That gave them a lift, they made a couple of changes and picked up the tempo.
“Second half we just didn’t seem to recover from that. We were laboured, we got stretched and we went out without a whimper really.
“If we’d had played well second half rather than the first people reflect on a game differently, but I do agree that there have been a few games recently – Watford and Derby – where we’ve been excellent first half and then not performed in the second.”
– See tomorrow’s EADT and Ipswich Star for match analysis and more reaction.
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