A brace from Lucy O’Brien and Eloise King’s first goal of the season saw ITFC Women dispatch London Seaward 3-0 to progress to the third round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup following a professional performance at the AGL Arena in Felixstowe.
Town boss Joe Sheehan made three changes to the side that saw off Plymouth Argyle in the league last weekend with Nia Evans, Sophie Peskett and Lucy O’Brien replacing Abbie Lafayette, Bonnie Horwood and Maddie Biggs in the starting XI, with Lafayette dropping out of the matchday squad and Horwood and Biggs starting the game on the bench.
Peskett, having made two substitute appearances in previous weeks since returning from a long-term injury absence, made her first start and first home appearance of the season.
Zoe Barratt, having been out since picking up a knee injury in the first game of the season against Portsmouth, returned to the squad on the bench.
Ipswich started the game on the front foot, creating several chances early on, before winning a penalty in the 10th minute, Anna Grey having been chopped down as she burst into the area. O’Brien stepped up to the spot and fired the ball past the keeper to open the scoring and put Town in the driving seat.
Five minutes later, Ipswich almost doubled their lead after O’Brien found Grey in space down the left-hand side, but her shot was saved and then well cleared by the Seaward defence.
Town, in control of the game but somewhat sloppy in possession, went close again on 25 minutes when King, wearing the skipper’s armband, shot from distance and crashed the ball off the bar.
Natasha Thomas and Peskett were both quick to react and attempt to force the ball in from the rebound, but the Seaward keeper pushed the latter’s shot round the post for a corner. A minute later, Seaward’s keeper was again called into action to hold a close range shot from Grey.
As the first half came to a close, Peskett managed to slip the ball to Grey in the box, but the resulting shot was straight at the keeper.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first with Peskett again creating a goalscoring opportunity for Grey but the keeper once more equal to the task.
Peskett’s involvement in the game ended on 52 minutes when Sheehan made his first substitution, replacing her with Bonnie Horwood. The winger received a warm reception from the home fans as she left the field, continuing to impress as she returns from a 410-day absence following an ACL injury at the start of last season.
A minute later, Town doubled their lead and O’Brien doubled her goal tally for the match, drilling the ball low from the edge of the box and finding the back of the net.
Five minutes afterwards Town scored again and effectively ended the game as a contest. King, who has been playing a deeper midfield role this season, opened her 2022/23 account, finding space on the edge of the box to coolly sweep the ball past the keeper.
Ipswich dictated the play from then on and Sheehan made further substitutions — Maddie Biggs replacing Thomas on 63 minutes and Grey making way for Barratt 10 minutes later.
Biggs almost added a fourth shortly after her introduction, racing into the box to get on the end of cross only to see her sliding shot fly wide of the goal.
All in all, the Tractor Girls looked comfortable throughout the match, resolutely breaking down a solid London Seaward defence to book their place in the next round of the competition.
When reflecting on the performance, manager Sheehan’s only criticism might be that were it not for some sloppy possession and profligacy in front of goal during the first 45 minutes, his side may have been out of sight by the break.
Ipswich will find out their opponents in the third round when the draw takes place on Monday at 7pm live on Talksport2 with the tie set to be played on Sunday 11th December.
Town: Quantrill, Boswell, Wearing, Evans, Hughes, King, O’Brien, Grey (Barratt 73), Brasero-Carreira, Peskett (Horwood 52), Thomas (Biggs 63). Unused: Meollo. Attendance: 199.