Jack Lankester was disappointed he wasn’t able to celebrate his dramatic winning goal in front of a packed North Stand, but he did at least get to share the moment with one of his closest childhood friends.
The forward was in the right place at the right time to head home Town’s winner in the seventh minute of injury time, as Paul Lambert’s men came from behind to secure three points from their clash with Shrewsbury.
It was a big moment for the academy product, with his third Ipswich goal securing what could prove to be a vital victory on a day his side were far from their best, but it’s hard not to feel there was something missing.
“I think the celebration would have been crazy if there had been 20,000 people here,” Lankester said.
“But a win’s what we wanted and we’ll take that forward.
MORE: Stu says - Five observations following Ipswich Town’s 2-1 home win against Shrewsbury“It’s very important with a big week ahead of us so it was important to get off to a good start,” he continued.
“We kept going right to the end and the pressure eventually told in the end. We know how we play and we know we can create chances so we always thought it could come.
“I was in the right place at the right time and if you do that you’re sometimes going to get those rebounds and chances, so I was delighted to get the goal.
“It’s hard to break teams down when they sit behind the ball but we just have to keep going.”
Lankester entered the game in the 22nd minute after Jon Nolan suffered a groin injury, seeing him team up with one of his closest friends in the Ipswich Town midfield.
“Brett and I have been friends since we were little boys so it was great to be out there to celebrate that winning goal with him,” Lankester said.
MORE: Sunday Snap - Sinful stats, mistaken identity and Norwood mastering the dark arts“We’re living together at the moment near the training ground so it’s a lot of fun to be out there with him.
“Our families are close, we’re in the same friendship group from school (King Edward VI in Bury St Edmunds) and we spend every minute of every day together so it’s nice to be out on the field as well.
“He’s a brilliant player. He’s comfortable on the ball, has a great range of passing and he’s never looked out of place in our team.
“He’s similar to Andre (Dozzell) in the way he’s technical and passes the ball and I think Brett learns a lot off Andre in training.”
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