Ipswich Town beat Rotherham United 4-1 in an FA Cup third round match yesterday afternoon. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
TIMELY BOOST
What a difference a week makes.
Everyone was on a real high following Town's impressive 3-0 home win against Oxford United on Boxing Day.
Seven days later, a few doubts (understandable given the flase dawns of years gone by) had started to creep in for some after a couple of frustrating festive draws at Portsmouth and Lincoln.
Putting a Championship side to the sword is therefore just what the doctor ordered ahead of this coming Saturday's huge clash with League One leaders Plymouth.
If Ipswich's biggest blip of the campaign has been and gone - losing just one game during a spell in which a whole host of important players were injured and ill - then they are laughing.
A very decent-sized cup crowd of 15,728 produced a lively atmosphere for this game. A packed out Portman Road should be absolutely rocking for the next one.
A REAL MARKER
There was no Christian Walton, Luke Woolfenden, Cameron Burgess, Sam Morsy, Wes Burns or Marcus Harness in this Town starting XI. The likes of Vasclav Hladky, Richard Keogh and Kane Vincent-Young were all making rare starts.
Rotherham boss Matt Taylor, by contrast, made just one alteration to his last league line-up.
And yet the League One hosts were still able to dominate proceedings.
Rotherham exploited some space down Town's exposed left a couple of times in the first half to scare. They netted a penalty equaliser following a long ball lapse in concentration right at the start of the second period.
Those brief moments aside, Ipswich completely bossed this match.
The last line of defence was often five yards inside the visitors' half. The brave Blues mixed off-the-ball aggression with on-the-ball tempo.
The final scoreline was far from flattering. Indeed, the margin of victory arguably should have been greater.
With no Paul Warne at the helm and no Michael Smith and Matt Crooks in attack, Rotherham are a shadow of the physical and direct team that bullied Town on their way to League One promotions in 2020 and 2022.
Town, meanwhile, have seriously levelled up during McKenna's first year at the helm.
The Blues boss insisted both pre and post match that this game doesn't really give much indication as to how well-equipped his squad would be for Championship football should they go on and get promoted.
Personally, I think it does provide evidence to back-up the theory that McKenna-ball has a much higher ceiling of success. Is this brand of football more suited to the division above? Hopefully we'll get to find out.
TWO PENALTIES!
McKenna has not been shy in saying that he feels his team have not been getting their fair share of decisions from referees this season.
The 1-1 draw at Lincoln - in which the hosts were given a controversial spot-kick for 'inappropriate marking' but carbon copy infringements in the other box were ignored - added to his argument.
Two penalties for and one against in this game means it's now 5-5 for the season as a whole.
Ipswich could have no complaints about the one awarded for Keogh's desperate last-ditch lunge on Washington (George Edmundson having previously got in a muddle).
And Rotherham couldn't really argue about the two given against them either (though boss Taylor did try).
Ladapo was simply too strong when backing into and rolling Wes Harding at a throw-in. The Millers defender got far too handsy. Conor Chaplin crisply side-footed that penalty into the bottom forner for 2-1.
Vincent-Young was then clever when letting the ball run across him and inviting Hakeem Odoffin to run across his heels just inside the box. Sub Burns converted that spot-kick straight down the middle for 4-1.
"Is it a concidence that it's not in the league and it's against a team that is above us and not below us in the pyramid?" mused McKenna afterwards.
Let's hope that theory is correct this coming weekend as third host first...
AN FA CUP WIN!
Town are into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 13 years.
This was the first time in 27 years that a team from a higher division has been beaten in the competition (reigning Premiership champions Blackburn in 1996).
It's the first time in 30 years that the Blues have progressed through three FA Cup stages (granted they never used to start in the first round).
The fourth round will take place on the weekend of January 28. That means Town's home league game with Accrington will have to be rescheduled.
The Blues could get a Premier League big boy (Manchester United and Tottenham are through). An East Anglian derby with Norwich City is a possibility. They might get something interesting, like Paul Cook's Chesterfield or Hollywood-backed Wrexham. Equally, they could be handed an uninspiring and awkward away trip to the likes of Fleetwood, Blackpool or Preston.
The draw takes place at 4.05pm, live on BBC One, ahead of this afternoon's clash between Manchester City and Chelsea.
Town will be ball number 32.
SOME SHOUT OUTS
Humphreys plays and speaks with a maturity well beyond someone who is just 19 years of age.
The academy graduate arrived in the right place at the right time to coolly side-foot the fully-deserved 43rd minute opener into the bottom corner. What followed was arguably more impressive.
"I will enjoy watching those five minutes after the equaliser back because he (Humphreys) got on the ball several times in difficult spots, he made a couple of crunching tackles, he was running box-to-box and he was clapping and encouraging team-mates," enthused McKenna.
It's clear Ipswich have a special talent on their hands.
Ladapo deserves great praise too. The 29-year-old was honest enough to admit it's 'nerve-racking' knowing the club are looking to sign players for his position this month. There was no sign of anxiety in this display though.
His deft link play led to the opener, his strength led to the second and some real composure (after Marcus Harness' towering header and Kyle Edwards' first-time flick) to round the on-rushing keeper and finish off the third.
Ladapo and Chaplin - with 11 and 13 respectively - have now contributed 24 goals between them so far this season.
Town may well have two new forwards in the building by the time the Plymouth game is here, but Ladapo has arguably earned the chance to start against another one of his former clubs.
A mention for Kayden Jackson as well. It was him who over-turned possession and created the opener with a clever cut-back. His work-rate and pace looks increasingly best suited to that wide right role.
Kyle Edwards' cameo was encouraging too. He had a hand in the third, went close on the stretch and also hit the post as Town began to really enjoy themselves.
REINFORCEMENTS COMING
Harness, Evans, Greg Leigh, Sone Aluko and Gassan Ahadme have all recently returned from medium-term injuries.
Massimo Luongo, who remained an unused sub for this game, has recently been added to the midfield unit.
But Ipswich are still keen to strengthen from a position of strength.
Two prospective forward signings watched this game from the stands in the form of George Hirst and Nathan Broadhead.
Both are employed by Premier League clubs (Leicester and Everton respectively), both have been at Championship clubs during the first half of this campaign (Blackburn and Wigan) and both, crucially, scored a good number of goals in League One last season (13 for promoted Sunderland and 15 for Portsmouth).
Broadhead, just like Davis back in the summer, will cost more than £1m.
Chief exceutive Mark Ashton did say he didn't want to be looking back at the end of the season thinking ‘if only'.
Hands up who's excited for the second half of this campaign?
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