We can still go up, Royle

By Derek Davis

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2

Ipswich Town 0

DEFIANT Joe Royle put a brave face on the defeat at Wolves last night and insisted Town can still go up.

First-half goals from Colin Cameron and Carl Cort destroyed Ipswich and only some super saves from Kelvin Davis prevented a total rout.

Ian Westlake struck the crossbar while Shefki Kuqi glanced a shot off a post but chances were few in a one-sided affair.

The Blues boss accepted they were well beaten in the first half but was not happy with the Molineux pitch or his side's inability to deal with Wolves.

But he also warned they will be better when they face Sunderland, at Portman Road, on Sunday, and that Town can still go up automatically.

He said: “In isolation it is a loss. We are still joint second with four games to go. We are in with a great chance. We will go for it and are in a good position, it is certainly not an irretrievable position.

“(Watching Sunderland boss) Mick McCarthy went away with a smile on his face but he knows we will be better than that on Sunday.”

Royle admitted his side never got hold of the game early on and made basic errors.

He said: “We just didn't start. We were letting people go from midfield, we weren't tight at the back and weren't keeping the ball up front, so it was a classic recipe for not doing well.

“Kelvin made some good saves but was largely redundant in the second half.”

He added: “In some ways we were fortunate it was only two at half time. Our keeper has made some good saves but we have hit the bar and the skipper (Jim Magilton) has had a good effort saved.

“We came here looking for a nice game and they weren't going to give us a nice game. They kept turning us and they were in our face. The pitch was not conducive to passing football but nevertheless it was the same for them so that is not mitigation just a fact.

"We adapted to the conditions better in the second half and might have scored when Darren (Bent) got through but we still didn't show enough threat.”

Wolves manager Glenn Hoddle was delighted with the manner of the win but was disappointed only to get the two goals.

He pointed to Town keeper Davis as the reason why they did not score more.

Hoddle said: “We should have taken the game to four or five but their keeper made three world-class saves to stop Ipswich from getting a heavier defeat.”

The former England manager was happy that he had outwitted his old adversary Royle.

He said: “They showed us great respect by changing their tactics to three at the back even though they needed to win. We thought they may do that and our front three played very well. Colin Cameron got in some excellent positions and Ki-Hyeon Seol was excellent, getting the better of (David) Unsworth.

“Our plan was to get among them and we played some excellent football on a difficult pitch.”

derek.davis@eadt.co.uk