Steve Cooper
In the recent match between Leicester City and Ipswich Town, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Steve Cooper, the Leicester manager, shared his thoughts on the game, reflecting on his team’s performance, the unexpected result, and the penalty appeal incident that stirred some controversy.
Steve Cooper said, “Please don’t think I’m saying this with any arrogance, but we expected to win today. And I say that respectfully. But a draw is what it ended up being and it’s a much better result for us than for Ipswich, no doubt about that. Performance-wise we started the game well, ended the game well, and we knew that if we played close to our levels with the players that we have then we could be the superior team in the game. We expected Ipswich to press us a little bit more than what they did and maybe that’s why we dropped off our intensity a little bit and sort of fell into what Ipswich wanted and allowed them to get a little bit of hope in the game. There were spells where we had to concede a bit of territory. Second half we could have started better, but I wouldn’t say we were miles the second best team. Obviously that was always going to be the case against 10 men and Ipswich protecting a 1-0. Facundo (Buonanotte) had a good chance in the latter stages. Jordan (Ayew), with his first touch, had a chance as good as the one he scored. We just needed to keep going. A draw is what it is, we have to accept it. Out of the two teams it’s a better result for us.”
Asked what he made of the penalty appeal, that Blues boss Kieran McKenna fumed over post-match,
Steve Cooper said “For us or them? I can’t remember. I didn’t see it, sorry. Oh, I do remember, it was from a set-piece, a free-kick, wasn’t it? Yeah. No, I didn’t see it. I remember the moment though.”
