Simon Grayson pulled no punches with his post-match assessment from Portman Road, admitting his players need to defend better.
Sunderland initially fought their way back into the match, when Billy Jones turned home Aiden McGeady’s corner after Martyn Waghorn had dealt the Black Cats an early blow.
But Jordan Spence restored Ipswich Town’s lead on 27 minutes before the hosts built up a strong advantage on home soil in the second period.
Grayson’s side showed spirit and fight to muster another goal, McGeady crafting a brilliant effort into the corner but the Tractor Boys ploughed on and netted a fifth to put the game beyond reach.
Speaking post-match Grayson delivered his verdict.
“When you lose a game and you concede five it is always going to be a disappointing night,” he said.
“We didn’t stop the opposition from playing and that was the bottom line of it all.
“If you allow any team to play against you it is going to cause you problems and that was the thing tonight.
“We had a go in the last 15-20 minutes because we started demanding it from each other, we started to win second balls and ask questions of the opposition.
“Before then though, we let the opposition play. At this level you have got to win your battles because you can’t just expect to go and play free flowing football when you think it is on to do it.
“You have got to earn the right and they earned the right to win the game tonight,” he continued.
“Every time the ball went into the box in the first-half it looked like we might concede.
“People didn’t stop crosses going in the box in the first place, you could say we were five yards off the pace.”
