Early goals from Harley Curtis and Liam Gibbs and one in each half from Alfie Cutbush (pictured) earned Town’s U18s a 4-1 FA Youth Cup victory over Southend United at Portman Road and a second round tie away to Chelmsford City. A clinical first half was marked by an impressive touch and finish from Curtis with just six minutes gone, and an equally impressive series of passes led to Gibbs doubling the lead in the 12th minute.
Cutbush added a third just before the break, but Ipswich couldn’t relax going into the second half with Ergis Shala heading one back for the visitors seconds before the whistle.
A much more even second half played out with neither side creating clear-cut chances, but some poor defending near the end allowed Cutbush to seal the tie for Ipswich.
Despite the dominant first-half display from Ipswich, it was Southend who came close first. A dangerous looking free-kick from Bobby Unwin curled over the left corner with Town keeper Antoni Bort diving high to his right.
The young Blues strung together some neat passes early on, and one quickly paid off in the sixth minute. Gibbs exchanged passes with Albie Armin before playing into the box to the feet of Curtis who quickly turned his marker and calmly placed the ball into the bottom right corner.
Six minutes later, the neat passing continued and the Blues doubled their lead. A series of quick one-twos saw the very impressive Gibbs burst into the right side of the box and apply a cool finish passed Grossart into the left of the goal.
A bright opening 15 minutes almost saw another Ipswich goal. This time Zanda Siziba cut inside from the left wing and drove into the box to hit a strong shot that looked certain to go in, but a deflection saw it go for a corner.
While Ipswich’s possession lulled slightly midway through the half, they built towards an impressive end. Persistent play from Ben Wyss on the right wing saw the right-back win the ball and find Cutbush in the box. The midfielder quickly took the ball under control and slotted in from close range.
Despite the dominant display, the Ipswich defence was breached seconds before half-time. Having failed to clear a corner from the right Shala reacted quickest and headed in to give the visitors a lifeline going into the break.
The late goal appeared to give Southend more confidence going into the second half. Their more assured play culminated in Kenny Coker hitting the side netting from inside the box and Adetayo Adedoja striking the bar from the edge of the area in the 59th minute as Ipswich struggled to get a grip on the game.
Town didn’t seriously threaten the Southend goal again until the 75th minute. Siziba played a one-two with Curtis and made his way into the left side of the box and beat the competing defender to the ball. His touch took the ball past a stranded Grossart and bounced off the bar before being cleared from danger.
Going into the last five minutes of the game Southend might have fancied they could get two late goals but some poor play gifted Ipswich a fourth. Jimmy Wallace was holding Cutbush off going back towards his own goal and made hard work of a simple back pass which Cutbush got on to and slid under Grossart for his second of the afternoon, sealing the Blues’ place in round two when they will travel to Chelmsford on a date yet to be set.
U18s: Bort, Wyss, Armin, Cutbush, Stewart, Baggott, Nwabueze (Agbaje 61), Chirewa (Alexander 67), Curtis (Osbourne 77), Gibbs, Siziba. Subs: Ridd, Humphreys, Manly, Valentine.