Ipswich Town defender Cameron Burgess remains positive after Watford stalemate at Portman Road

Ipswich Town defender Cameron Burgess remained positive after the Blues’ goalless stalemate at home to mid-table Watford as he stated Town’s destiny is in their own hands.

The draw moved the Blues back into the automatic-promotion places, level on points with table-topping Leicester, who hold a game in hand, and one point above third-placed Leeds United.

Portman Road, which has been the hub of drama this season, has hosted few low-scoring affairs in Ipswich’s return to the second tier and the Blues created enough chances in the first half against Tom Cleverley’s Hornets, to feel this was two points dropped rather than one gained.

Town penned the visitors into their own half for the majority of the first period and created an abundance of chances. Striker Kieffer Moore had three efforts on goal and was unfortunate not to find the back of the net with a bullet header that goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann did incredibly well to keep out.

Nathan Broadhead was also among the chances in the first half. The winger saw two efforts saved by Bachmann before his deflected strike glanced off the post. Contrary to the first 45, Town failed to record a shot on target after the break.

“We focus on the performances and on another night, one of those chances drop for us. We did everything right up until that point, one just needed to fall for us,” said Burgess.

“If the ball’s hitting the post and rolling across the line like that (for Broadhead’s chance), what can you do you do? But we keep battling away, we take the positives from it. It’s a point at the end of the day and it’s still in our hands so we keep going.

“If you’ve been at the last handful of home games, you will have seen us score with seconds to go. There was always that chance we were going to go and do it and we have that type of group.

“We have that character about us, we never say never and we keep going to the final whistle. Sometimes it’s not always going to go your way and, at the end of the day, a clean sheet and a point, we move on and we keep going.”

When asked why he felt there was a difference in attacking output between the two halves, the 28-year-old said: “It felt like they had a lot more bodies behind the ball.

“There was a lot of balls we had in their box that didn’t fall for us, it probably had to go through about four or five bodies for it to reach the goalkeeper which is not always easy.

“When we implement our style and do our stuff at home, teams can do that. We take the positives from it, if teams, like Watford with the players they’ve got, are going to come and do that then we must be doing something right.”

Kieran McKenna’s side always respond to a loss and there was a clear reaction to their 1-0 defeat at arch-rivals Norwich City on Saturday.

On the derby day disappointment, Burgess said: “I hate losing, it’s not fun, especially when it’s such a big fixture for the fans and the club, but I guess what helps you get over it a little bit is the fact we’re playing for something is massive for this football club.

“We started the game (against Watford) in the right attitude tonight and hopefully it's a step in the right direction to where we want to get to.”

After promotion-rivals Leicester City and Leeds United dropped points last night (Tuesday), the door was left ajar for the Blues to take pole position heading into the weekend. An opportunity Town failed to fully capitalise on, but a point that could prove important come the end of the season.

The Australian international, who helped Town keep their 14th clean sheet in the league this season, chose to watch the ‘epic thriller’ between Real Madrid and Manchester City on Tuesday night instead of the teams around them.

“What other teams do, we can’t control,” he said.

“I suppose if you look at it, things are in our hands, so we’re going to go into every game to try and win every game like we always have done. If we keep doing the right things, things will happen for us.

“We’ve had games where we’ve not done things the right way and the next game we correct it. That’s the type of group we have and it’s a credit to the boys in the dressing room and the staff that give us the details.”

The draw with Watford was Burgess’ 101st appearance for the Blues after the East Anglian derby at Carrow Road earned him a spot in the club’s 100 club. Promotion to the Premier League would be the ‘icing on the cake’ for the defender.

On his achievement, he said: “It’s a privilege to be able to play 100 games for this football club, infront of these fans. Everytime you get the chance to play at Portman Road it’s a special occasion.

“Something to reflect on maybe when I’ve finished playing more than now, it’ll be a really proud moment, but we’re in the thick of something really special for this football club and it’s not really about me, it’s about this team.

As well as surpassing 100 appearances, Burgess also represented Australia at the Asian Cup at the beginning of this year, where his country bowed out in the round-of-16 stage.

“It was another really good experience personally. To go to a major tournament for an international is a great experience and I’m really enjoying playing for Australia as well,” he said.

“To be able to do that is a really proud moment and it wouldn’t have happened without being able to do the right things for this club, so I owe a lot to my teammates and the staff here.”