Ipswich 1-3 Fulham: Harry Wilson, Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney strike as Premiership side ease past Kieran McKenna’s second string to reach last eight of Carabao Cup
- Harry Wilson put Fulham ahead early on and Rodrigo Muniz doubled their lead
- Tom Cairney made it 3-0 before sub Elkan Baggott scored a late consolation
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!
Fulham can be forgiven for feeling as though a fourth-round trip to Portman Road was like walking into the eye of a storm on a night when Storm Ciaran threatened to batter parts of the nation.
There was no sign of any howling wind or torrential rain in East Anglia. Yet the visitors deserve credit, nonetheless, for weathering the hurricane that is Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich, especially on their turf.
To put it simply, Ipswich do not lose on home soil. It’s nearly time to haul the Christmas decorations from the loft and still the Tractor Boys have only lost once at Portman Road in 2023.
In that time, 18 sides have left with their tails between their legs. Some swept aside, others blown away. But Fulham proved the perfect storm chasers and proved too strong for the hosts to withstand.
The early warning signs were there when the Premier League side went ahead inside the opening ten minutes. Few inside Portman Road will have seen their side carved open in the manner they were for Harry Wilson’s opener for a long time.
Harry Wilson put Fulham ahead from close range in the ninth minute against Ipswich
Wilson latched on to Bobby de Cordova-Reid’s pass and took it around keeper Christian Walton
The hosts never threatened to set up a nervy finish, with Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney putting the game out of sight early in the second half for Fulham.
Substitute Elkan Baggott helped to soften the blow of this defeat with a late consolation but Ipswich will dearly hope this defeat proves to be inconsequential in their promotion push.
The fact they can even be in the conversation for a return to the Premier League just a few months on from being promoted from the third tier of English football is remarkable in itself.
MATCH FACTS
IPSWICH (4-2-3-1): Walton 5; Donacien 5.5 (Hutchinson 69, 5.5), Tuanzebe 5.5, Burgess 5.5 (Baggott 60mins, 6), Clarke 5.5; Ball 5.5, Taylor 5.5; Jackson 6, Harness 6, Aluko (C) 5.5 (Humphreys 61, 6); Ladapo 5 (Hirst 69, 6).
Subs not used: Slicker, Edmundson, Carr, Luongo, Chaplin.
Goal: Baggott 79
Booked: Harness 32, Taylor 38
Manager: Kieran McKenna 6
FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Rodak 5.5; Castagne 6 (Tanton 95), De Fougerolles 6, Bassey 6.5, Ballo-Toure 6.5; Lukic 6, Cairney (C) 6.5; Wilson 6.5 (Iwobi 69, 5.5), Pereira 7 (Reed 68, 6), De Cordova-Reid 7; Muniz 7 (Jimenez 69, 5.5).
Subs not used: Benda, Robinson, Ream, Palhinha, Vinicius.
Goals: Wilson 9, Muniz 49, Cairney 77
Booked: Lukic 38, Jimenez 86, Reed 89
Manager: Marco Silva 7
Referee: Lewis Smith 5
Attendance: 28,221
But this was a little taste of what they could win should they return to the top flight after more than two decades in the wilderness.
Credit to Marco Silva’s side, who treated this clash with the utmost professionalism. With McKenna opting to make 11 changes, Fulham’s slick football was too much for the hosts’s second-string side to handle.
Too many passes went astray, too many second balls dropped to men in white shirts. In the Championship, you can get away with such slip-ups. Not against Premier League opposition, though, and within ten minutes, the hosts duly found themselves behind.
Forward Rodrigo Muniz refused to be muscled off the ball his marker and knocked the ball in-field to Bobby De Cordova-Reid, taking three Ipswich defenders out in the process.
De Cordova-Reid had two options. A tempting ball through to Andreas Pereira, who was racing from a central position towards goal. But even more tantalising was the acres of space that Wilson found himself in over the far side.
With Ipswich keeper Christian Walton charging out of his box in a futile attempt at closing down the angle, Wilson chopped past the stranded gloveman and passed the ball into an empty net.
Ipswich’s persistence to maintain the high press which has served them so well under McKenna was to be admired, yet the ease at which Fulham cut through made it look naive at times. The hosts were fortunate to see Fode Ballo-Toure’s cross deflect onto the bar just minutes after falling behind.
Fulham doubled their advantage when Wilson’s low cross was finished by Rodrigo Muniz
Midfielder Tom Cairney put the game out of sight early in the second half for Fulham
Silva’s side were given an almighty scare when goalkeeper Marek Rodak’s dozy pass was intercepted but he was on guard to tip Kayden Jackson’s effort around the post. In response, Pereira hammered an effort from 30 yards just wide for the away side.
McKenna’s side have come to earn the moniker of comeback kings after doing just that in the previous round against Wolves and in the league against Plymouth on Saturday.
But within five minutes of the second half, that looked unlikely even for them as Pereira’s perfect ball across the box left Muniz with the simplest of tap-ins at the far post.
Fulham captain Cairney put the result of the tie beyond doubt after firing past Walton from inside the box, before substitute Baggott’s consolation from a corner for the hosts.
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