lead-art-block.fullscreen-enterExpandIpswich manager Gary O’Neil was full of praise for Marcelino Nunez
Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil was full of praise for Marcelino Nunez
Boss Gary O’Neil paid tribute to humble Ipswich midfielder Marcelino Nunez after his sensational goal inspired a 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Leicester – but admitted he wanted him to pass at first.
Sindre Walle Egeli showed Premier League quality with a smart left-footed finish to break the deadlock after 62 minutes for Ipswich before 19-year-old Olabade Aluko earned Russell Martin’s Leicester a deserved leveller five minutes later with a back-post header.
However, ex-Norwich midfielder Nunez fittingly had the final say in the meeting between two former Canaries team-mates after he rifled home off a post from outside the area in the 71st minute before he produced a wonderful 50-yard lob in stoppage time.
On the second goal by Nunez, one of only two players to start after Saturday’s 2-1 victory at home to Sunderland, O’Neil said: “I didn’t think it was the best decision to be honest!
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“Neither did Chuba (Akpom) or Sindre who were clean through on goal, but as long as you can put it in the goal no one can argue, so good decision in the end!
“The last two performances Marcelino has been excellent. Two great goals, unbelievable energy that he has, never stops and unbelievably humble kid that works and works.
“You need them in your group and two big moments of quality to add to that which changed the game for us.
“He is in a good spot and need to keep him going. We need to keep him going for the weekend and it is now a big push to get everyone going on Sunday (at Manchester United).”
Leicester enjoyed the better of the first half but Tom Watson was denied by Ipswich back-up goalkeeper Christian Walton, who also thwarted Town old boy Conor Chaplin on his return to Portman Road.
Egeli broke the deadlock from Jack Clarke’s fine cross before Aluko got the faintest of touches to a Bobby De Cordova-Reid header to level in the 67th minute, but Nunez fired in four minutes later before he spotted Jakub Stolarczyk off his line on the stroke of full-time.
A proud Martin said: “The players were amazing and I loved it. I loved the performance.
“We were unlucky to lose and definitely unlucky to lose 3-1, but after Saturday we spoke a lot about bravery, aggression and intensity. With and without the ball they showed so much.
“The only thing missing is we didn’t win but if we play like that, it is really exciting for us. We’ll have a lot of fun and win a lot of games.
“It is so early and that is why I feel really calm about it. The fans were amazing as well. Hopefully they felt a bit of energy after that performance.”