Jack Lankester netted twice, the first from the penalty spot, as Town’s U18s came from behind to beat Dagenham and Redbridge 2-1 in their fourth round FA Youth Cup tie at Portman Road. Elliott Bonds gave the Daggers an 11th minute lead but Lankester stepped up to net from the spot on 16 after he was fouled, then grabbed the winner with eight minutes remaining. They will play Blackpool at home in the fifth round.
Town, coached by Alan Lee with his recently-appointed assistant Geraint Williams joining him on the touchline, started brightly and went close in the sixth minute when Jack Lankester stabbed towards goal at the near post but Daggers keeper Louie Chapman got down sharply to save.
However, the visitors took the lead in the 11th minute from their first serious attack. The Blues failed to clear a corner and Bonds broke into the area on the left and hit a shot across Town keeper Mitchell Ware and into the net.
But five minutes later, the Blues got back on terms from the penalty spot. French midfielder Lounes Foudil played a ball into Lankester’s feet inside the area and the striker was felled as he looked to turn. Lankester took the kick himself and sent the ball low to Chapman’s right.
On 21 skipper Brett McGavin found Steven Cahill on the right of the area with a clever pass but the right-sided wideman’s shot was blocked.
The Blues, by now dominant, almost took the lead in the 24th minute. A corner from the right was cleared to Corrie Ndaba on the edge of the box. The Irish defender’s shot was blocked but the ball fell to Lankester on the edge of the six-yard box but somehow Daggers keeper Chapman managed to claw it away.
Town, watched by boss Mick McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor from the directors' box, continued to have most of the ball but without being able to create an opening. Chances had been even rarer at the other end but a minute before the break Daggers striker Lanrewaju Balogun found himself space for a low shot which flew not too far wide of Ware’s right post.
At the other end, Armando Dobra’s cross from the right was just taken away from Idris El Mizouni at the far post, then just before the whistle McGavin sent a ball into the box which Lankester just failed to reach.
The first half ended level with Town having been the better side, passing the ball around slickly at times but without creating too many chances.
Two minutes after the restart McGavin tried to catch Chapman out of his goal with a shot from distance but the Daggers keeper managed to get back to claim with the ball in any case going wide.
In the 49th minute Chapman dropped a corner from the left. The ball fell to Lankester but the keeper managed to atone for his error.
Daggers full-back Deniz Alici picked up the game’s first yellow card for a foul on 61 as Foudil sought to break. Two minutes later Dobra joined him in the book for a similar foul.
The visitors had seen more of the ball after the break but without testing Ware with Town giving the ball away too easily and looking vulnerable on the counter-attack.
The Daggers nearly went in front when Balogun shot over after the ball was cut back to him from the right.
England U16 international Ben Knight replaced the tiring Foudil in the 66th minute before the increasingly dangerous visitors spurned another good chance to retake the lead, Luke Hirst shooting wide from the edge of the area after the Blues had been caught on the break.
The game was becoming increasingly stretched and on 70 Town had a chance, Knight playing the ball through to Wilton, who fed Dobra, but his shot flew into the side-netting. Soon after, Bonds was yellow-carded for a foul on Bailey Clements.
On 74 Lankester broke into the Daggers half and rode a tackle before shooting high and wide.
A minute later, a Daggers defender cleared against one of his own players inside the box and almost played in Wilton but Chapman was able to claim.
The Blues began to get back on top, Clements doing well on the left then the Daggers failed to deal with a ball which ran across their six-yard box.
As the match moved into its final 10 minutes Wilton took the ball on a long way before shooting just over from 20 yards.
And with eight minutes remaining the Blues took the lead. Dobra beat a man and broke into the area on the left and saw his shot blocked. However, the ball ran back to him at a tight angle and he cut it back to Lankester, who turned in his second of the match.
The man who created the goal, Dobra, was replaced by Thomas Hughes for the final nine minutes.
With a minute of scheduled time left Knight was played in on goal on the left by Hughes but a defender did well to get a toe in to dispossess him. Seconds later, McGavin booked for time-wasting.
Town might have made it 3-1 in four minutes of injury time, Wilton breaking away and hitting a shot which Chapman palmed away to his left.
The Blues saw out the remaining seconds to claim the win and a place in the fifth round where they will play Blackpool, who beat Southampton on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Town deserved the win against a spirited Dagenham and Redbridge side who had chances to win it themselves during their best spell midway through the second half. But as the match wore on the young Blues began to create more and more openings and looked the more likely winners.
U18s: Ware, D Crowe, Clements, El Mizouni, Marshall, Ndaba, Dobra (Hughes 81), McGavin (c), Lankester, Foudil (Knight 66), Cahill (Wilton 51). Unused: Egan, Vega.
Dagenham and Redbridge: Chapman, Turvey, Alici, Gallagher, Lee, Agboola (c), Florence, Bonds, Balogun, Hyde, Hirst. Unused: Naija, Salis, Agboola, Williams.