(Football news) In the second round, the Tractor Boys defeated Reading on penalties, while Gary O’Neil’s team defeated Blackpool 5-0 to advance this far. Ipswich hasn’t advanced all the way in the EFL Cup despite having one top-flight championship and the FA Cup still blazing brightly in their trophy case. However, if their early-season form is any indication, Kieran McKenna’s club may be able to pull off a few surprises in this year’s competition.
Following a straightforward 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers in round one, Ipswich travelled to struggling Reading and was poised to win in regulation time. However, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s equalising goal for the Royals with 87 minutes left prevented that from happening, and Ruben Selles’ team missed three of their four penalty kicks in the shootout, which allowed Ipswich to advance.
Ipswich are already on track for back-to-back promotions as they compete for the EFL Cup thanks to an outstanding start to life back in the Championship. This success continued with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, extending their winning streak in all competitions to five games.
McKenna’s team is level with Leicester City at the top of the table with 21 points from the first 24 available in the Championship, however they trail the Foxes on goal differential. However, their combined total of 17 goals is tied with Norwich City for the best attacking record in the division.
The Tractor Boys, who have lost just once in their last 22 games at home and reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by Arsenal, are certainly capable of making their first EFL Cup fourth-round appearance since 2010-11, but conceding nine goals in their last three games at Portman Road is hardly encouraging either.
On Saturday, Pedro Neto’s thundering effort gave Wolves the lead at Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road headquarters against the flow of play and with 10 men on the pitch due to a red card for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who in a fit of rage kicked out at Tom Lockyer.
Before scoring through their Portuguese wing wizard, O’Neil’s team had to withstand waves of pressure from their opponents in the first half. However, Wolves were left to regret yet another contentious officiating decision when Joao Gomes was penalised after the ball deflected off his foot and bounced onto his hand; Carlton Morris completed the scoring from a distance of 12 yards.
Wolves’ head coach O’Neil blasted the “absolutely terrible” decision to award the Hatters their draw-snatching penalty, which leaves Wolves with just the one win to show from their six top-flight contests in 2023–24. While Luton was fully deserving of their first Premier League point of the season and may have even deserved all three there was a sense of injustice against Wolves.
The West Midlands team, however, thrashed Blackpool in their EFL Cup debut, with Matt Doherty emerging as a surprise two-goal hero. Since their re-entry into the top division in 2018, the two-time EFL Cup winners have only lost once to lower-league opponents.
Ipswich’s Tractor Boys haven’t scored against them in five games, and they haven’t won since a 2-1 Portman Road victory in November 2014, thanks to Wolves’ two 1-0 victories against them in 2017–18, which preceded both teams’ temporary departure from the Championship.
Also read: Manchester United to face Crystal Palace in 3rd round
