Manager Paul Lambert is right to feel proud of his young team last night. They may not have deserved to win in 90 minutes but their tenacity saw them through when penalties came into play. Peterborough pulled out all the stops to deny Town their victory and when both Toney and Eisa came onto the field with six minutes remaining, we all felt that this could be fatal for Town. The Blues young defence then had to succumb to another five minutes of added time, so to make it to penalties was a remarkable achievement.
Adam Przybek, Alex Henderson and Tommy Smith all made their debuts and they all played well. Town went ahead after James Norwood had a shot palmed away by Chapmen and El Mizouni’s was on hand to bury the ball home from close range midway through the first half. The lead did not last long though because within ten minutes the sides were level when an error by Huws enabled Ricky-Jade Jones to finish with aplomb.
The game ebbed and flowed but the home side was dominant for long periods, but thanks to some fine goalkeeping from under 21 Welsh international Adam Przybek they failed to score again.
I was particularly impressed by young Brett McGavin who did nothing wrong until the penalty miss and is a very bright prospect in my view. Much the same can be said for Alex Henderson at the back and Barry Cotter who was a real force going forward. Armando Dobra is another one who will benefit from this level of football, and he grew into the game as did many others.
For Town to actually win a penalty shoot-out is a novelty in itself, and it was a real treat to see these youngsters coming up and having a pop. But I guess the real hero was our keeper Adam Przybek, who made some excellent saves – even before he started saving from the spot as well!
All things considered, this was a wonderful victory and it will do the confidence of these kids the world of good. Lambert fielded a side that had experience in it but it was anything but the side we would expect to see against Coventry on Saturday.
Ipswich are now through to the last 16 of the EFL Trophy and the draw will be made live on Sky Sports tonight at 20.15!
Town Team: Przybek; Cotter, Henderson, Skuse (c) (Smith 46), Kenlock; McGavin, Huws, El Mizouni, Dobra, Norwood and Roberts.
F.W. – editor of Vital Ipswich
