Ipswich Town 3-2 Wolves
by Asif Burhan
at Portman Road

IPSWICH TOWN manager Kieran McKenna hailed Tuesday’s League Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers as “a really important signpost in the development of the team.”

The Championship pace-setters, Ipswich Town, defeated a Premier League side for the first time in 13 seasons following a scintillating comeback from 0-2 down to win at a rocking Portman Road.

Both sides made ten changes but it was the one Wolves player who started at the weekend, Hwang Hee Chan who made the breakthrough in the fourth minute when he swept home after the Tractor Boys failed to cut out a long crossfield ball from the right.

Just 11 minutes later, Wolves seemed to have put the tie beyond the Championship side.

From a left-wing corner, Hladky could only parry a powerful close-range header by debutant Santiago Bueno and Toti Gomes leapt to volley the ball over the goal-line.

On loan from Chelsea, Omari Hutchinson had tried to spark the Suffolk side back into the match with a sinuous dribble in the 12th minute which provoked a foul just outside the penalty area.

It was no surprise when the effervescent forward brought Ipswich back into the game, beating Bentley at the near post after a defence-splitting through-pass from Marcus Harness. 

Nine minutes before half-time, it was again Harness who pivoted to split the Wolves back-line and Freddie Ladapo fired past Bentley.

A minute into the second period Harness broke free down the right and brought a full-length save from Bentley. 

Ipswich however were not to be denied for long as after a prolonged period of high-tempo keep-ball, Harness once again provided the assist, this time a more simple lay-off, for Jack Taylor to smash the ball past Bentley to complete a remarkable turnaround.

After the match, Harness said he could not ever recall providing a hat-trick of assists in his profession career. Despite not yet starting a league game this season, he hailed the togetherness of the squad.

“It’s a special group, a special team, a special club. I’ve never been involved in a group that trains at such an intensity. Everyone’s pushing in the same direction. It’s a pleasure to be a part of.”

The Suffolk side has now 23 of their last 26 matches since February under McKenna and currently sit in an automatic promotion position, fuelling hopes they will return to the top flight next season for the first time in 22 years.

Tuesday’s performance will have done nothing to dampen the euphoria around the current team.

“We can’t get carried away with ourselves,” said McKenna, looking ahead to the Fourth Round draw.

“There’s certainly things to improve on tonight’s performance. As much as is realistically possible, we are going to stay aggressive and brave with our identity, whoever we face — don’t hold me to that if we pull out the blue side of Manchester!”

“In the big picture of our season, the result tonight doesn’t win us anything and doesn’t mean huge, huge amounts for the outcomes of the season. But it is a really significant marker-point for the development of our squad. We’ll take it as that, we’ll enjoy it as a sign of progression.”