Sheffield Wednesday praised for their resilience despite defeat at Ipswich
Henrik Pedersen says he was proud of the Owls' performance - despite another loss on the road
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has praised his team for their courage and discipline despite a 3-1 loss against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
While Ipswich secured three Championship points with goals from Cedric Kipre, Jaden Philogene, and Jack Clarke, the Owls put up a determined display, with Liam Cooper scoring for Wednesday in the second half.
Pedersen highlighted the positive aspects of the performance, especially in the first half.
"I am really, really proud," Pedersen said. "To go to Ipswich, I think they are the best squad in the league, and to give a performance with this courage, this belief, this discipline, with this togetherness, then I can only be proud.
"How we played first half, it was one of the better halves we have played this season."
In the second half, Ipswich increased their intensity, but Wednesday showed resilience by pressing with courage and continuing to play aggressively despite the risks.
"We stayed together. To break a team down like Ipswich you have to play passes with risk and this cost us two times today," Pedersen added.
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna acknowledged his own team struggled with tension in the first half, despite eventually taking control.
"The first half was certainly a lot of tension in the performance," McKenna said, praising defender Cedric Kipre’s header that gave Ipswich a first-half lead.
"They have the ball where we don't want it to be, close to our goal, and we struggled to get rhythm and confidence in the game at that point."
Ipswich's win moved them up to third in the Championship, narrowing the gap to five points behind the automatic promotion places.