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

Kalvin Phillips opened the scoring with his first goal in an Ipswich shirt (Image: PA)

Confidence boosters

If you had to pick three players in the starting lineup to get a confidence-boosting goal, you’d probably choose Kalvin Phillips, Jack Clarke and Ali Al-Hamadi. The first two got themselves on the scoresheet early on.

Neither man had found the back of the net in an Ipswich shirt until Bristol Rovers came to Portman Road. Phillips was first, picking up the ball on the edge of the area before carrying it to the right and firing a low shot into the back of the net.

It was a lovely, well-struck shot into the bottom corner. A goal that oozed Premier League class.

Jack Clarke, who set Phillips up with some quick footwork, doubled the lead just six minutes later. Jack Taylor was able to pick out Al-Hamadi in acres of space, and while he couldn’t make proper contact with his shot in the box, the former Sunderland winger was on hand to fire the ball into a the net.

Those goals should hopefully do wonders for the two summer signings. It’s fair to say that neither of them have had a perfect start to life in Suffolk, but this could really help them going forward.

Jack Taylor scored from an offside position towards the end of the first half (Image: Steve Waller)

A baffling decision

Taylor knew that his goal - Ipswich's third of the game - shouldn’t have stood.

The ball was carried forward through the middle of the park and played up to Al-Hamadi, who flicked it on for Taylor in an offside position.

This wasn’t a marginal call - it was pretty blatant. He was comfortably offside, and Bristol Rovers’ defenders were left stunned as the flag stayed down.

Taylor himself was visibly shocked. He hesitated on the ball, clearly waiting for a whistle, but when it didn’t come, he fired into the back of the net.

With no VAR in operation, the goal stood. Replays showed just how bad 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.

McKenna was quick to laugh about the lack of a lengthy VAR check, although he claimed that he hadn’t seen the incident during his post-match press conference.

Bristol Rovers boss Inigo Calderon wasn’t quite as amused, however, saying that Ipswich didn’t need a helping hand to win the game, although he admitted that it wouldn’t have changed the result. The Gas were already out of the game by the time the third goal went in.

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

Ali’s situation

Ipswich will have to make a decision about Al-Hamadi.

The striker boasts visible strengths and clearly has a long-term future at Ipswich. However, it’s harder to argue that he’s Premier League quality at this stage in his career. That’s what Ipswich need at this point.

This was a game where he needed to make the most of a start, especially against League One opposition. He wasn’t presented with loads of chances, but struggled to do much himself during his time on the ball.

McKenna was keen to highlight what he did well, saying: “I thought he did a lot of good work, to be fair. His work off the ball was outstanding, some of his back-to-goal play, his link-up was really, really good.”

Unfortunately, he did still look rusty. His mobility was limited at times and he lost the most duels of any player in the match. On top of that, he then hooked a penalty well wide of the target after Massimo Luongo’s shot cannoned off the arm of former Town man Grant Ward.

There are enough extenuating circumstances. He’s clearly not totally fit, lacking regular minutes and still adjusting to the highest level of football in this country. It’s become crystal clear that he needs to go out on loan, however, but Ipswich will need to sign a striker to allow that to happen.

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

Townsend shines

There was a surprise stand-out at Portman Road - Conor Townsend.

The 31-year-old has had limited minutes since joining Ipswich last summer, with just one minute off the bench in the Premier League, which came in the latter stages of the defeat at Brentford. He started in Town’s Carabao Cup exit at AFC Wimbledon back in August, however, where he looked sharp.

Yet despite a lack of regular game time, he looks like he’s been playing week in, week out. He did exactly what Leif Davis does, which can only be seen as a positive.

Townsend didn’t have much defending to do, although he did what was required. Ipswich’s possession allowed him to bomb forward down the left, making slick runs and linking play.

He was surprisingly threatening, popping up in all the right areas. His deliveries were good, both from open play and from corners.

In the Premier League, Davis is going to play whenever he’s fit, but it’s reassuring to know that Ipswich have good cover for him if required.

In terms of other stand-outs, Phillips looked a class above the other players on the pitch while Ben Godfrey settled in quickly into the hybrid right-sided defender role. It was also great to see George Hirst return to action off the bench, while Luke Woolfenden deserves recognition for captaining his boyhood club for the first time in his career.

The Blues will travel to Coventry City in the next round of the competition (Image: PA)

On we go!

Town are through in the FA Cup, reaching the fourth round for the third consecutive year. They haven’t reached the fifth round since 2006/07.

This isn’t a competition that the Blues will want to crash out of. Unlike last season, there are no real benefits. There are blank weekends in the Premier League for every FA Cup round until the semi-finals. More games will benefit those on the fringes of the squad, maintaining fresh legs and providing opportunities to those who need it.

After all, who doesn’t love a cup run? Although top-six sides dominate this competition, we’ve seen loads of great 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.

Speaking of the Sky Blues, they will be Ipswich’s next opponents in the FA Cup.

Although tough, it’s certainly a winnable tie. Chelsea legend Frank Lampard is in charge of Coventry City and may be focused on their league campaign, which has been disappointing so far. Their aforementioned FA Cup run from last year arguably derailed their play-off push and they won’t want that to happen again.

For now, focus turns back to the Premier League. Brighton visit Portman Road on Thursday before Manchester City make the trip to Suffolk next Sunday. Town will hope that their convincing cup win could help them kick on in the top flight.

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