Ipswich 0-2 Brighton: McKenna demands response after tame second-half showing

After a home victory against Chelsea in their last Premier League game at Portman Road, Ipswich fans would have been confident of beating a Brighton side that had not won in eight league matches.

And Kieran McKenna's side should have taken the lead, only for Bart Verbruggen to make three fine saves to keep out efforts from Nathan Broadhead, Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson.

Those stops, and Wes Burns' failure to hit the target from 12 yards out when well placed early in the second half, proved costly.

Poor defending allowed an unmarked Kaoru Mitoma to put Brighton ahead, but Ipswich never looked like getting back in the game, before substitute Georginio Rutter was allowed time and space to shoot from deep inside the penalty area to make it 2-0.

In the end, this game was another tame loss, similar to those against Everton and Crystal Palace earlier in the season, in a home match they would have targeted as must-win.

Worryingly for Ipswich fans, McKenna said his side "didn't find the belief and conviction that the game was still there for us" after conceding the first goal and he challenged his team to show more fight in their next matches.

It will not be an easy task with reigning champions Manchester City at Portman Road on Sunday before a trip to Anfield to face league leaders Liverpool the following Saturday.

Ipswich have shocked Tottenham and Chelsea this season and will need more surprise results if they are to haul themselves back out of the relegation zone.