Coventry City 1-4 Ipswich Town: Jack Clarke and George Hirst help Tractor Boys cruise past Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues in FA Cup.
Ipswich reached the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since 2007, thanks to a strong performance from Jack Clarke and an early penalty from George Hirst.
Jack Clarke’s first-half brace drove an Ipswich team that made 11 changes into the FA Cup’s last 16 with a 4-1 victory against Coventry.
George Hirst put the Tractor Boys ahead from the penalty spot after only 90 seconds, and while Joel Latibeaudiere quickly equalized, Clarke scored twice before halftime to put Ipswich in command.
After missing a hat-trick opportunity, the former Sunderland player set up Jaden Philogene’s first goal for Ipswich just after the hour mark. Coventry, last season’s semi-finalists, were eliminated, while Ipswich moved to the fifth round for the first time since 2007.
Clarke has only made five Premier League starts since signing for £15 million in August, with 14 of his 22 Ipswich appearances in all competitions coming as a replacement. However, he capitalized on his opportunity with a superb performance, adding to his goal from the previous round’s 3-0 win against Bristol Rovers.
City are in contention for the Championship play-offs after a turnaround in form since Frank Lampard took over in late November. However, they were defeated by the reserves of a relegation-battling team who had lost their previous four games.
Kickoff was delayed by 10 minutes owing to traffic outside the CBS Arena, and those in the 30,000-person crowd who were late to take their seats missed the first goal.
Ipswich won a penalty in 22 seconds when Sammie Szmodics was knocked over by Liam Kitching, and Hirst beat Oliver Dovin with a spot-kick into the bottom right corner.
However, Coventry, dressed in one-of-a-kind dark blue jerseys to promote funds for charity, were level six minutes later.
Ipswich conceded a cheap corner after failing to deal with Jay Dasilva’s cross. Jack Rudoni sent the ball in, and Latibeaudiere headed in his first goal of the season at the near post. New goalkeeper Alex Palmer’s first touch was to pick the ball out of the net.
Coventry got into the game and pressed forward against an uneasy Ipswich defense. However, Ipswich’s quick assault remained a threat and they regained the lead after 28 minutes.
Hirst ran down the left and passed the ball back to Clarke, who displayed quick feet to avoid a couple of players before arrowing a shot into the bottom corner.
After Philogene tried Dovin from range, Szmodics, who had recently returned from an ankle ailment, fell down for the second time in the game and was forced to leave, with Nathan Broadhead replacing him.
The Wales international was almost immediately involved in Town’s third goal, intercepting a bad ball from Luis Binks and shooting it in to Clarke, who poked home under pressure.
Coventry were the first to threaten in the second half, with Palmer having to stretch to push Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s low shot around the post, and they maintained the pressure with a series of corners.
Just after the hour, Brandon Thomas-Asante scrambled the ball in from Latibeaudiere’s cross, but the flag came up for offside.
Instead, Ipswich moved directly to the opposite end and scored a crucial fourth. Clarke dispossessed Latibeaudiere before unselfishly crossing from the left for Philogene to score his first goal since joining from Aston Villa for £20 million last month.
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