Accrington add to Portsmouth's problems with victory over League One leaders Ipswich

Ipswich manager Paul Lambert refused to be downbeat following his side’s surprise 2-0 defeat at Accrington.
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The Tractor Boys boss insisted all teams suffer set-backs, with the key being how you respond to them.

Accrington’s win represents another blow to Pompey, who now drop to 18th in the League One table – one point above the relegation zone – with John Coleman’s side leapfrogging them into 17th position.

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But while there is understandably a lot of negativity surrounding the Blues following their 1-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon, Lambert insisted there was no need for ‘doom and gloom’ in the Ipswich ranks following the final whistle at the Crown Ground.

He told the the East Anglian Daily Times: ‘It's disappointing, but listen, we've been unbelievable.

‘We've been absolutely fantastic and I've got nothing but praise for the team. I'm proud of the way they've gone about things.

‘We're top of the league, so there's a lot worse things to be disappointed about.

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‘It's not doom and gloom that's for sure. I'm not going to say everybody is downbeat just because we've lost one game.

John Coleman saw his Accrington side beat league leaders Ipswich 2-0  Picture: Jan Kruger/Getty ImagesJohn Coleman saw his Accrington side beat league leaders Ipswich 2-0  Picture: Jan Kruger/Getty Images
John Coleman saw his Accrington side beat league leaders Ipswich 2-0 Picture: Jan Kruger/Getty Images

‘I knew we would lose at some stage. There has to be a realism. There's no team alive that doesn't have set-backs.

‘Nobody expected Man City to lose to Norwich or Wolves. That's football. It's how you bounce back. The good teams always bounce back.

‘You take your medicine, you dust yourselves down and you go again. We don't have a divine right to win every single game.

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‘We take this hit and we go again. The challenge to go again is there because we're a big club’

Ipswich remain top of the table, but second-placed Wycombe narrowed the gap to one point following their 1-0 victory over Sunderland.

The Black Cats at new manager Phil Parkinson at the helm for the game at Adams Park.

And just like Lambert, he refused to ‘get too low’ after seeing his debut end in a loss.

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He told the Sunderland Echo: ‘We had a lot of the ball, did we create enough? Show enough quality? Probably not.

‘But it wasn’t a lack of effort and heart from the lads - we just didn’t produce enough moments of quality to get the goal back.

‘We can’t get too low from the defeat, we dust ourselves down and go again Tuesday.’

Peterborough stay third in the table thanks to their 2-1 win at Gillingham – the side that held Pompey to a goalless draw at Fratton Park the previous weekend.

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Posh boss Darren Ferguson described the victory as a ‘big win’ for his promotion contenders.

He told the Peterborough Telegraph: ‘It’s a big win for us.

‘Any win at Gillingham is a good win. In fact I don’t think I’ve won here before.

‘You’re always going to have to dig in and win here. They left the grass long which they are entitled to do and we were missing some key men so I’m delighted with the result, if not the performance.’

Other results: Bolton 1-3 Rochdale, Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Bristol Rovers, Fleetwood 4-1 Burton, MK Dons 0-0 Coventry, Rotherham 1-2 Oxford, Lincoln 0-0 Shrewsbury, Tranmere 1-1 Southend.

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