Two-goal Rio Morgan believes Town’s U18s can go all the way in the FA Youth Cup having beaten Liverpool 2-0 at Portman Road to set up a quarter-final tie at home to West Ham.
Morgan netted the opening goal in the eighth minute, then added the second in first-half injury time.
"The boys put in a good performance and it was great to come out with a win,” the 17-year-old said.” Worked hard to the final minute and good to come out with two goals.”
Reflecting on his goals, he added: "The first was very early on in the game. The ball fell to me and I just thought I’d have a strike, nothing bad can happen from it and luckily it found its way through and went in.
"We didn’t want to get ahead ourselves, Liverpool were a good opposition so we just thought let’s keep going, keep going and just before the break I found myself one-v-one with my man, I beat him, he took a slip and I found the bottom corner.”
Morgan wasn’t far away from completing a hat-trick in the second half when his effort from distance following a corner struck the top of the bar.
"It was just instinct,” he recalled. "Outside the box, not too far out and I thought I’d just have a shot. It was one of my better games playing for Ipswich and just happy to get the win.
"The boys are buzzing, looking forward to a great game against West Ham at home, which is very good. Hopefully can get some fans in again. The support was great today, I think the boys thrived off the fans. Great atmosphere and overall the boys are buzzing.”
Liverpool looked to get themselves back in the game in the second half but the Blues remained on top and other than Reds’ skipper Terence Miles’s penalty which was saved by Town keeper Woody Williamson, there were few scares.
"We weren’t getting too stressed but weren’t getting too arrogant at the same time,” Morgan reflected. "We were just finding the right balance and just working hard, playing our football, keeping to the game plan and just getting on with the game.
"Liverpool are a good team and we weren’t overlooking them at all. They had moments of brilliance and we did well to handle it.”
The win puts the Blues only two games from the final. Are he and his teammates starting to dream that they can become the fourth Town team to win the trophy following in the footsteps of the sides of 1973, 1975 and 2005?
"I think the boys, we believe that we can do, we can go all the way,” he insisted. "I think that team spirit, that togetherness we have is very good and helps us a lot because we’re really close and I think that helps us on the pitch.
"We dig deep together, we fight for each other, work hard for each other and it’s good to have such a great bunch of boys in our team.”
It’s already been a great 2023 for Morgan having scored the winning penalty in the previous round against Nottingham Forest after netting the Town goal in the 1-1 draw which preceded the shoot-out, which Town won 4-2. He has also just signed his first professional deal.
"Things are going well at the moment,” he admitted. "There are a lot of ups and downs in football but you’ve just got to keep believing in yourself and working hard, that’s all you can do.
"It’s a good feeling. Playing football, from as long as I can remember, all you want to do is become a professional footballer and to sign my first professional contract at such a big club like Ipswich is a great feeling.
"With the support of [U18s manager] Sam [Darlow] and BK [Bryan Klug] and [academy manager] Dean [Wright] and all the new coaches coming in, it’s brilliant.
"I joined Ipswich in September 2019, so I’ve been here for three and a bit years. It’s been a good journey, to get my scholarship last year and coming into the programme I'm just working hard every day and luckily I got offered my professional contract.
"I was previously playing for Potters Bar Town, I’m from Welwyn Garden City, playing for my sort-of local club.”
Morgan has played international football for Northern Ireland at U17, U18 and U19 levels and hopes to be involved with the U19s again soon.
"I play for Northern Ireland, we qualified for [the next qualification stage of] the Euros in October, so if I keep playing well and working hard, I can get a call-up to the elite rounds coming up soon. A good bunch of boys, the Northern Ireland lot.”
Morgan first came to the attention of fans with a goal for the Northern Ireland U18s against a Manchester United side at SuperCupNI in the summer.
He has also already forged a relationship with supporters on social media, with fans following his Twitter account which is under the name Rio Oudnie-Morgan.
"Asked which version of his name he likes to go by, he said: "I prefer Rio Oudnie-Morgan, but obviously it’s hard to pronounce [Ood-ney], so Rio Morgan is easier for everyone, so I don’t really mind at the end of the day.
"It’s good to get that connection with the club’s fans. Ipswich fans are brilliant, they love the club. It’s one club town and county and you can tell that the fans love the club, and it’s brilliant to be part of a club like that.”