Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy believes the Blues can take some confidence from the reverse fixture against Bournemouth earlier in the season ahead of the Premier League meeting with the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium tonight.
Having opened the scoring through Conor Chaplin in the first half and having a second goal softly ruled out for a foul, the Blues fell to a pair of late goals from Enes Ünal and Dango Ouattara which ultimately left Town still waiting for their first home win of the season.
This week, Kieran McKenna’s side will look to end a run of eight defeats in nine league games and finally claim a league victory in 2025, the Blues now the only team in the Football League without one.
Ipswich Town skipper Sam Morsy believes the Blues can take some confidence from the reverse fixture against Bournemouth earlier in the season ahead of their Premier League meeting tonight. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Despite the differing context and manner of defeat at Portman Road in December, Morsy believes the performance deserved more and hopes to reward the Town supporters with three important points on the south coast.
“I thought we played really well in the last game and were probably unlucky not to win never mind lose,” he said. “It was a game of fine margins like a lot of them are.
“We’ll take lots of confidence from that and we have to try and take a step further on Wednesday evening.”
Bournemouth are having a successful season, sitting inside the top half of the Premier League table and in the hunt to bring European football to the Vitality Stadium for the first time in the club’s history.
The Cherries have perhaps dipped in recent weeks and are without a victory in six matches following their FA Cup quarter-final defeat at the weekend, but Morsy has been hugely impressed with the work of Andoni Iraola.
He said: “They’re a really good team and are having a really good season. They competed really well against Man City on Sunday so we know it’s going to be a really tough game. Having a look at them they’re a really good side and they seem to be getting better every season.
“Every game in the Premier League is a big challenge. They’re having a good season and make it really difficult for you. They have some outstanding individuals and are a good team so it’s going to be a big challenge and we’re going to have to be at our best.”
Amongst those talented players is Marcus Tavernier, a winger who Morsy knows well from the season they spent together at Middlesbrough.
“He’s a really good player and a good athlete. I could see he was going to do well,” Morsy said.
“Really good, really dangerous and lots of goals in them. As a club they’ve recruited really well, unearthed some really good players and taken the first risk on a couple of them and it’s paying off.”
It could be a season defining week for the Blues with Wolverhampton Wanderers, the side Town are aiming to catch, visiting Portman Road on Saturday.
Morsy hails from Wolverhampton and knows plenty of Wolves supporters. He was also released from the academy setup as a teenager, resulting in the former Egypt international putting a little bit extra on his meetings with the Old Gold.
“I’ve always enjoyed that fixture,” he said. “I’ve beaten them with Barnsley, Wigan and now Ipswich so I’ve beaten them a few times which is nice. We’ll try and beat them again which would be really nice.
"I have loads of friends, loads of family who throughout the season I’ve been having ongoing dialogue with. It’s going to be a great game, it was an amazing game at their place and it’s a game we have to win.”
Morsy is a practicing Muslim and has just finished observing Ramadan, where Muslims fast during the hours of daylight in order to devote themselves to their faith.
During the time for spiritual reflection, the 33-year-old believes the tradition has helped him get back to full fitness and marked the end of Ramadan with Eid celebrations on Sunday.
He said: “Amazing. With the fixtures I only played in the Forest game within that, the other games I didn’t play.
“An amazing month, I’ve had a couple of niggles for a while which I feel like have cleared up and I think Ramadan’s got a big thing in clearing it up. It’s been an amazing month and I can’t wait to get going again.
“When you don’t eat and drink throughout the day there’s something on a different cellular level where your body can recover and repair. Especially with me not playing in games, it’s had a good chance for my body to repair and reset itself.
“I went to the Mosque in the morning and then just saw my family. It was a nice day.”