Town's U18 side progressed to the second round of this season's Suffolk FA Premier Cup with a 2-1 win at Hadleigh United at Millfield on Tuesday evening, with goals from Nelson Eze and Jayden Adetiba securing the victory.
After a fairly even opening to the match, Hadleigh centre-back Ellis Girling made a fine last-ditch tackle to prevent Will Unadike latching onto a clever ball over the top from captain Charlie Wood.
Home left-back Lewis Oakes was shown the first yellow card soon after for a foul on Jeremiah Agyepong on the corner of the box. Usisya Longwe's free-kick found Wood unmarked, but he couldn't divert the ball towards goal and it was cleared.
On 24 a loose clearance from the Town backline fell kindly to Max Dinnell, who drove forward and shot just wide of the near post, with the ball appearing to take a deflection but referee Callum Dorling awarded a goal-kick.
A few minutes later, a good move from the young Blues saw Wood find Adetiba out wide on the left and the UAE U17 international cut in and hit a right-foot shot straight at keeper Kasey Clark. Wood was harshly cautioned soon after for a foul.
On 33, Adetiba beat his man out wide and cut in before passing to Eze (pictured) on the edge of the box and his side-footed effort took a big deflection and wrong-footed Clark before bouncing into the net.
The hosts hit back though, and the scores were level again just four minutes later. Jack Palmer tricked his way past a number of challenges as he made his way into the box, only for Longwe to pull him down and the referee pointed to the spot with few complaints from the Town players. Striker Curtis Harvey stepped up and confidently found the bottom corner, sending keeper Will Fletcher the wrong way.
The last goalmouth action of the half saw Eze meet Stevie Brouwers' cross from the right but the ball was sent well over the bar.
At half-time, coaches David Wright and Matt Pooley made a double substitution with Isaac Boakye-King and Indiana Pedder replacing Wood and Agyepong with the Town captain already having received a final warning from the referee before the break.
The Thurlow Nunn Premier Division side really should have taken the lead on the hour mark when sub Angus Mills met a dangerous ball across goal from the left side, but he somehow managed to head over from inside the six-yard box.
A few minutes later, Palmer cut in from the right but shot straight at Fletcher and then Archie Brown made a good block to deny Palmer for a second time.
On 70, Town edged ahead in a rare second-half attack. Pedder burst into the box on the right and teed up Eze and although his shot was blocked, the ball fell kindly to Adetiba who coolly slotted home from close range.
Hadleigh were soon piling the pressure on the Town backline again though with James Wilding heading a deep cross just wide at the far post and George Day twice coming close in a matter of minutes, firstly with an audacious lob that landed just over the far top corner of the net and then with another long-range effort that a back-pedalling Fletcher did well to tip just over.
The Blues survived a late penalty shout from the non-league side in the six minutes of stoppage time as they held on to set up a second round away tie at Cornard United.
Wood impressed in central midfield in the first half but few could have argued with the decision to replace him at half-time, given the physical nature of the game and the number of fouls he had committed while already on a yellow card.
Overall, the Town defence as a whole stood up well to a number of attacks, particularly during the second period, although the hosts will probably have felt that they had enough chances to have taken the tie to penalties.
U18s: Fletcher, Brouwers, P Adebayo, Brown, O'Sullivan, Longwe, Agyepong (Pedder 46), Wood (Boakye-King 46), Unadike, Eze, Adetiba (Ekontosia 75). Unused: Wreford, Burton-Yurevich. Att: 266.