A point was settled for Ipswich Town on Friday night as Julio Enciso netted his first goal of his second spell at the club to earn the Blues a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Ipswich struggled to get going early on as Neco Williams gave Forest the lead, but Enciso scored towards the end of the first half after a defensive error. But despite some bright displays from Town, Forest appeared to have the better of the game.

In his post-match interview, Gary O’Neil spoke about the difficult conditions, tactical adjustments, the contentious Issa Diop incident and why he felt it was a positive result. Here are 5 key points from the press conference.

1. O’Neil Was Happy To Take the Point

Although Ipswich went into the game wanting to win, Gary O’Neil was realistic about the difficulty of facing Forest and admitted his side never really played their favourite style of football. However, he praised his players for fighting hard.

Instead of forcing the issue, Ipswich played to the situation and made sure they got something from the game.

“Hard fought. Tough opposition. Tough conditions. We were never quite able to get our style to get on top of theirs, really. Maybe a little spell in the first half where we got some control. It’s a game where we had to show another side to make sure that we got something.

“We could have still won it, of course. We had some decent moments. Clarkey came on and had a big chance again. It’s a game where togetherness and shutting up a little bit and going a little bit safer managed to get us through to the finish line. I’m proud of the players because it’s not easy to do that. So it’s a good point for us. We wanted to win, but Nottingham Forest are a good side. As I said before, I knew it was going to be a tricky game.”

2. Town Abandoned Part of the Original Game Plan

One of the most interesting things to come out of the press conference was the fact that Gary O’Neil admitted that he changed Ipswich’s style of play.

Throughout the game, Forest were a threat on the counter and O’Neil felt his side were getting too risky in dangerous areas so he decided to play safe.

“Yeah. Early in the second half, I felt we needed to abort trying to outplay them. We stuck with it for a while, had some great moments from it where we were able to show the quality that we have and we were able to play through.”

“But I felt just too many times we lost simple balls in dangerous areas and it was only a matter of time before we got punished on one of those transitions. So I made the call to go safer and just avert risk a little bit.”

It was an interesting insight into how Gary O’Neil changed his style during the game.

3. The Change Helped Ipswich Stay in the Game

While playing a more direct style meant that Ipswich didn’t have as much control and were in their own half for longer, O’Neil felt it was the right decision.

“We went a bit safer, more direct, didn’t play as much. That meant that we lost some control and we had to suffer a bit. But it did stop the real big transition chances coming against us, which I think were going to cost us the game eventually. It’s just a call that I made. Lesser of two evils. I thought it did give us a bit of a platform, something that allowed us to hang in and fight and scrap.”

“Thankfully, the lads managed to get us to the finish line without conceding another goal because obviously Nottingham Forest were pushing pretty hard for some of that second half.”

It was another example of Gary O’Neil’s pragmatism. While Ipswich are committed to playing attractive football, they are learning when to change their style.

4. O’Neil Agreed Diop’s Challenge Was a Foul

The main talking point of the game came just after half time as Issa Diop brought down James McAtee as he was running towards goal. The incident was reviewed by VAR for a possible red card but eventually a yellow was shown by referee Tom Bramall.

O’Neil understands why the incident was a talking point but agreed with the decision

“I’ve watched it once live from the technical area. It’s a foul. Issa misses the ball and catches McAtee. I thought Leif Davis was in a good position to cover though. And I thought McAtee’s touch was slightly big and going away from goal, probably. So, I think they came to a real good conclusion with a good process.”

He went on to explain why he felt Leif Davis was in a good position.

“I don’t think you would be able to say that that was a definite goal-scoring opportunity where James McAtee gets through against Walts (Christian Walton) without Leif getting back.”

5. The Decision Could Have Gone Either Way

While O’Neil agreed with the decision, he admitted it wasn’t a clear-cut incident, and opinions would vary depending on which side you support.

“It’s one that can obviously go for or against us. It’s one of those that you’ll probably have people on either side of the fence on. For me, though, I think they came to the right conclusion.”

O’Neil also reflected on Ipswich’s late chance to win the game.

“From there, we dug in, then waited for the top corner to bulge as Clarkey came in onto his famous right foot (in stoppage-time). But, unfortunately, we have to settle for the point – a good point. Now we get ready to go our way to Hull next weekend and see if we can add some more.”

Ipswich have added another point to their tally and kept themselves in the top half of the table, so all eyes now turn to Hull City as they look to keep their promising start to the campaign going.