Kieran McKenna savours ‘special performance’ as Ipswich sweep aside Hull

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said the 3-0 victory over Hull, which took them to the top of the Championship, was one of the “best performances” of the season.

Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Marcus Harness scored the goals and McKenna savoured “a night to enjoy”.

It was only the second defeat of the season for the Tigers, who slipped three places to eighth on goal difference, as Ipswich continued their superb early-season form.

Town got off to a flying start thanks to a strike by Burns in the fifth minute and Chaplin completed a wonderful move to make it 2-0 just before the break. Harness stabbed home the third from close range midway through the second half.

McKenna said: “I thought it was a special performance really. We spoke about it before the game. I felt like we had one in us.

“We’re fit, we’re learning game by game, it was a first home game back in the Championship for a night game and I felt like it had the feel of a really good performance in us.

“I liked so many things about us, the work on the ball to play through the pitch against a really good team.

“It was a night to enjoy. It’s only one night, it’s one game, it’s three points but you can’t take away the fact that everyone associated with the club should enjoy tonight.”

Talking about his team’s goal threat, with a Championship-leading 21 to their name in 10 games, he said: “The players have developed individually to try and have different threats, to try and play through the pitch, to be able to play in behind, combine and be a threat off of crosses.

“It was certainly one of our best performances in the league.”

Hull manager Liam Rosenior was full of praise for their opponents.

Rosenior said: “Ipswich have been outstanding all season and two magnificent goals in terms of the finishes.

“We have now lost two in 10 and we are hard to beat but overall it’s not a crisis, it’s no drama, we learn our lessons and move on to the next one really quickly.

“We are still in a really good place, we have got 16 points from 10 games. The Championship is always so close.

“Chris Hughton (Rosenior’s former boss at Brighton) always said you’re never the best team in the world when you win, you’re never the worst team in the world when you lose.

“You can’t get carried away when things are going really well and we can’t get carried away when things don’t go our way. What we have to do is respond, learn and analyse and make sure we’re better for the next one. It’s about staying the course.”