Morrison spoils party for Keane

SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP:Coventry 2 C Morrison 10, 24Ipswich 1 Walters 28

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Roy Keane? Not quite. The Irishman will celebrate reaching 38 today by travelling to Shrewsbury for tomorrow's League Cup tie with the frustration of this defeat gnawing at his insides.

Those insides, however, are at least likely to have been fortified by food. Keane revealed that he is trying to ensure losses no longer damage him as they have in the past, when he could go days with little sleep and almost nothing to eat.

"I hope to have some food this evening some time," he said, solemnly. "But the day when I'm dead relaxed after a defeat, when I go home, put my feet up and start whistling, well, that will be a sad day. I'll always be upset and disappointed, but what I and Ipswich have to learn is that there will always be setbacks as you try to go forward and you have to accept that. I could have done without one in the first game of the season, mind."

That the setback came against the side that Ipswich had beaten in their final match of the last campaign probably only added to Keane's dismay. With the Irishman's summer recruits having been less numerous than many foresaw, five players on display yesterday had featured in that last victory of 2008-09.

Indeed, Keane said it was unlikely that he would add to that squad before the transfer window closes.

"No manager will ever rule out making loan signings but I think that's our bit of business done now," he said. "I'm fairly happy with the squad."

With the exception of Damien Delaney at left-back, Keane's transfers have been intended to bolster his attack but the wisdom of that policy was hardly reinforced as Coventry won thanks to two goals that were, in Keane's words, "sloppy, very sloppy".

The first came in the 10th minute when the centre-backs, Gareth McAuley and Pim Balkenstein, watched a goal kick from Coventry goalkeeper Keiren Westwood sail over their heads. Richard Wright sprinted off his line in order to mop up, but he changed his mind and was caught in no-man's-land as Keane's former Republic of Ireland team-mate Clinton Morrison sent a 25-yard lob over his head and into the net.

Coventry's second goal arrived soon after and demanded only slightly more invention. After a flurry of frenzied activity on the edge of the Ipswich area, Aron Gunnarrsson rolled the ball out to the right, where Isaac Osbourne had arrived in support. The full-back curled a cross towards the penalty spot where Morrison, reacting faster than Balkenstein, stooped and twisted his body to put perfect propulsion and direction on a header that flew past Wright. "If a striker puts his head that low, you should take it off," said Keane.

He need not be too despondent, however. There were elements of Ipswich's performance that justified their billing among the favourites for promotion.

Their physical power gave them a clear edge over their opponents and for long spells they beguiled Coventry with the fluency of their midfield, where only the holder, David Norris, maintained a more or less fixed position as Liam Trotter, Jamie Peters, Jon Walters and Lee Martin switched and surged incessantly.

Keane had devoted much of pre-season to embedding that strategy but, of course, it takes longer than that for such schemes to truly gel and when the midfield faltered here, Coventry proved adept at countering.

Ipswich's movement caught Coventry out most alarmingly in the 28th minute, when Walters cantered on to Jon Stead's through-ball to fire a shot into the net from 20 yards.

Twice in the second half Walters came close to an equaliser, and a volley from Peters flew inches wide before Martin drew a good save from Westwood. When the goalkeeper was beaten by a Balkenstein in the 72 minute, Morrison was on hand to nod the ball off the line.

"That epitomised our performance," said Chris Coleman, Coventry's manager.

"When a striker who has scored two goals still comes back to clear off his own line, that's magnificent. That's better than scoring a hat-trick and showed how gutsy we were - absolutely no one went missing.

"There's been a lot of negativity around us this summer because we sold two players we didn't want to lose [ Danny Fox to Celtic and Scott Dann to Birmingham] but there won't be many teams stronger than Ipswich in this league and if we continue to be as gutsy we'll be okay."

GuardianService

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