Ola Bello hit a hat-trick as Town’s U18s cruised past Chelmsford City 5-0 in the second-round of the FA Youth Cup at Melbourne Park on Monday night.
Elkan Baggott and Fraser Alexander were also on target for Adem Atay’s impressive young side.
Town got off to a fast start and could’ve been ahead inside three minutes but after receiving a cut back across the area, Alexander saw his shot saved by Sam Kingston. However, it didn’t take the Young Blues long to break the deadlock after a move of real quality. Gibbs exquisitely turned in midfield before driving forward and slipping the ball into Nico Valentine. His subsequent shot was saved by Kingston but Bello was on hand to bury the rebound from close range.
Ipswich continued to pile on the pressure with the largely impressive Liam Gibbs at the forefront of some very fluid attacks. Soon the young midfielder had an assist to his name as his corner was headed down and into the bottom corner by the towering Indonesian youth international Baggott.
Soon after, Town had a fantastic chance to make it three after a quick breakaway. Valentine found Ben Wyss on the overlap, whose blocked shot caused an almighty scramble in the area. Alexander had a chance to follow up after pouncing on a loose ball but dragged his shot wide.
Alexander soon atoned for that miss as he grabbed the Blues’ third in the closing stages of the half. Bello held the ball up for the overlapping Wyss, who once again caused havoc in the Chelmsford area with a low delivery and after the hosts failed to clear their lines, Alexander found the far corner of the net at the second time of asking.
Town would have another glorious chance to add to the scoring on the cusp of the break but were denied as Brooklyn Kabongolo saw his looping header excellently clawed out of the air by Kingston.
The hosts made a much better account of themselves after the restart and went close to getting themselves back in the game but Dominic Forbes saw his flicked effort strike the post after arriving late to meet a low corner. However, the Blues delivered a sucker punch almost instantly as Jack Manly broke away down the left and squared for Bello to slide home.
Town got their fifth just under fifteen minutes from time as Bello secured his hat-trick. Substitute Tawanda Chirewa clipped a perfect ball into the channel and after Kingston got his positioning all wrong, Bello punished him by calmly slotting underneath the Chelmsford stopper.
The Blues came close to a stunning sixth just minutes from the final whistle but Baggott saw his thunderbolt from distance superbly tipped over the bar by Kingston. Paul Lambert and Stuart Taylor, who were both in attendance, will no doubt be pleased by what they had witnessed from the Young Blues. Town will now host Fulham in the third-round after a dominant performance in Essex.
Town: Ridd (GK), Wyss (Chirewa), Kabongolo, Baggott, Humphreys, Alexander, Cutbush, Gibbs, Valentine (Osbourne), Manly (Nwabueze), Bello.
Unused: Catley, Knock, Siziba, Stewart.
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