ALEX JONES Ipswich Town: Five observations from FA Cup win against Bristol Rovers.

Ipswich Town beat Bristol Rovers 3-0 at Portman Road to go to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Alex Jones reflects on the action.

Kalvin Phillips opened the scoring with his first goal for Ipswich. Confidence Boosters If you had to pick three players from the starting lineup to score a confidence-boosting goal, you’d probably go with Kalvin Phillips, Jack Clarke, and Ali Al-Hamadi. The first two scored early on. Until Bristol Rovers arrived at Portman Road, no Ipswich player had scored a goal. Phillips was first, scooping up the ball on the edge of the area and carrying it to the right before unleashing a low shot into the back of the net.

Jack Taylor scored from an offside position near the end of the first half. A puzzling decision. Taylor understood that his goal – Ipswich’s third of the game – shouldn’t have stood. The ball was taken forward through the middle of the park and sent up to Al-Hamadi, who passed it to Taylor in an offside position. This wasn’t a minor decision; it was quite obvious. He was clearly offside, and Bristol Rovers’ defenders were surprised as the flag remained down. Taylor was visibly astonished. He paused on the ball, evidently expecting for a whistle, but when one did not arrive, he blasted into the back of the goal. With no VAR in place, the goal remained. Replays revealed how awful the decision was. Did the linesman fail to notice that Al-Hamadi got a touch on the ball, or did he just believe that Taylor was onside? Given the replays, the latter seems hard to believe.

During the post-match press conference, McKenna joked about the lack of a lengthy VAR check, claiming he hadn’t seen the incident. Bristol Rovers manager Inigo Calderon was less amused, stating that Ipswich didn’t need it to win the game, but admitted that it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. The Gas were already out of the game by the third goal.

Ali Al-Hamadi fired a penalty well wide after the break (Image: Steve Waller)

Ali’s situation

Ipswich will have to make a judgement about Al-Hamadi. The striker has apparent strengths and a promising long-term future at Ipswich. However, it is more difficult to say that he is Premier League quality at this point in his career. That is exactly what Ipswich needs right now. This was a game where he needed to make the most of his opportunity, especially against League One opponents. He wasn’t given many opportunities, but he struggled to contribute when his time on the pitch. McKenna was eager to highlight his accomplishments, saying, “I thought he did a lot of good work, to be fair.” His off-ball work was fantastic, as was his back-to-back goal play and link-up.”

Unfortunately, he still appeared rusty. His movement was limited at times, and he lost more duels than any other participant in the game. Furthermore, he hooked a penalty way wide of the mark after Massimo Luongo’s attempt deflected off the arm of former Town player Grant Ward. There are sufficient extenuating factors. He’s clearly not in peak condition, lacking regular minutes and still adjusting to the highest level of football in the country. It has become evident that he needs to go out on loan, but Ipswich will need to recruit a striker to make that happen.

Conor Townsend impressed against the Gas (Image: Steve Waller)

Townsend excels! Conor Townsend emerged as a surprising standout at Portman Road. Since joining Ipswich last summer, the 31-year-old has played only one minute off the bench in the Premier League, coming in the closing moments of a defeat against Brentford. He did, however, make his debut in Town’s Carabao Cup defeat to AFC Wimbledon in August, where he impressed. Despite his lack of regular game time, he appears to have been playing consistently. He did exactly as Leif Davis does, which can only be viewed positively. Townsend didn’t have much defending to do, but he did what was necessary. Ipswich’s possession enabled him to burst forward down the left, making smooth runs and linking play.

He was surprisingly intimidating, appearing in all the appropriate places. His deliveries were effective both in open play and from corners. Davis will play whenever he is healthy in the Premier League, but it is reassuring to know that Ipswich have adequate insurance for him if necessary. Other standouts included Phillips, who appeared to be a cut above the rest of the team, and Ben Godfrey, who rapidly adjusted into the hybrid right-sided defender position. It was also nice to see George Hirst return from the bench, and Luke Woolfenden deserves credit for captaining his hometown club for the first time in his career.

The Blues will travel to Coventry City in the following round of the competition (Image: PA). Here we go! Town have advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the third consecutive year. They haven’t been to the fifth round since 2006/07. The Blues won’t want to lose this competition. Unlike last season, there are no significant benefits. The Premier League has blank weekends for each FA Cup round until the semi-finals. More games will benefit individuals on the outskirts of the group, keeping fresh legs and providing opportunities for those who require them. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a cup run? Although the top six teams dominate this competition, we’ve seen plenty of wonderful underdog stories in recent years. Last season, we saw Championship side Coventry City reach the semi-finals, coming inches away from knocking out Manchester United at Wembley.

The Sky Blues will be Ipswich’s next FA Cup opponents. Although difficult, it is certainly a winnable tie. Coventry City’s manager, Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard, may be focused on their poor league campaign thus far. Their aforementioned FA Cup run from last year undoubtedly interrupted their play-off campaign, and they will not want that to happen again. For the time being, the Premier League takes centre stage. Brighton will visit Portman Road on Thursday, before Manchester City travels to Suffolk on Sunday. Town will be hoping that their convincing cup victory would help them advance in the top division.

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