Ipswich Town Boss Warns Against Underestimating AFC Wimbledon Ahead of Carabao Cup Tie

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is adamant that his side will not underestimate AFC Wimbledon in tonight’s Carabao Cup tie. The Blues kick off their campaign in the second round, travelling to Plough Lane for the second time this year after beating them in the FA Cup back in January.

Johnnie Jackson’s side started the campaign with a 4-2 win against Colchester United before they were beaten by newly-promoted Bromley, having beaten them in the first round of the Carabao Cup a few days earlier. They come into the game this evening off the back of a 1-0 win away at Cheltenham Town, a result which sees them sit eighth in League Two after three matches.

“They’ve made a really good start,” McKenna said. “I know Johnnie fairly well and we feel like we know Wimbledon well. We’ve played them in different cups, different competitions. We played them in the league not so long ago and always had tough matches against them.

“We know quite a few of the players, we know the staff and we know the things that they do very well. They’re always going to be a threat in terms of scoring goals, they play with a lot of bodies high up the pitch, they cross the ball and get bodies into your box. They’ve shown in the cup competitions over the last couple of years that they can go and compete and score goals against teams in higher leagues.

“I’m sure they’ll look to create a difficult game against us and I’m sure it will be a difficult game, but we’ll look to stand up with a good performance. I think it’s going to be a different test. At this stage of the season, having different challenges can stand you in good stead.

The Dons won two and lost one of their three League Two games so far this season (Image: PA)

“We know they’re going to play more direct than the teams we’ve played so far. They’re going to look to get balls and bodies in our box with crosses and set plays to give us a different type of challenge. We have to stand up to that. That’s not what we’re going to face every game in the Premier League, but there’s also going to be games where we are and there’s going to be moments in games where we have to stand up to that.

“That’s one challenge. It’s also a game where I think we’ll have more of the ball than the opposition. We’ve had two games where that hasn’t been the case. On a tight pitch away from home against a team that play with a back five, it’s not going to be easy to break them down.

“That’s our challenge, to go there, try and stand up to their threats and see if we can break them down and score some goals.”

Asked about his aim for this season’s Carabao Cup, McKenna answered: “We want the games and we want to go through for the immediate reason of wanting another round in the tournament after this. Then, beyond that, it’s a cup competition. You want to go into every cup believing you can progress in it and reach the latter stages, maybe even win it.

“We want to progress in the competition, but for now, the priority is getting minutes into the group and bringing this group of players together to mould them into a team, which we’ve done over the last couple of years. Now we have to renew that process with the additions we’ve made.

“The game is welcome for us this week and the feeling in the group is that we’re getting into a strong position in terms of numbers. We want to have some extra games in the weeks ahead.”

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