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Ipswich Town 4-0 Forest Green Rovers - Match Report
Saturday, 18th Feb 2023 17:05

Conor Chaplin score twice and Nathan Broadhead and Freddie Ladapo once each as Town romped to a comfortable 4-0 victory over bottom side Forest Green Rovers at Portman Road. Chaplin gave the Blues the lead in the third minute, Broadhead added the second in the 41st minute, Chaplin made it 3-0 with his second on the hour and sub Ladapo completed the scoring in the 82nd minute with the Blues, who are back up to third, having had enough chances to have made the scoreline even more emphatic.

Town boss Kieran McKenna made four changes to the team which started Tuesday's 0-0 stalemate at Bristol Rovers, reverting to the side that began last Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Harry Clarke returned on the right of the defence, while Chaplin and Broadhead were back as the number 10s and George Hirst as the central striker.

Janoi Donacien, Marcus Harness and Ladapo dropped to the bench, while Sone Aluko missed out on a place in the squad. Massimo Luongo returned to the 18 following his recent knock.

For Forest Green, midfielder Dylan McGeouch was absent and on-loan Manchester United youngster Charlie Savage made his first start.

The visitors were forced into a late change before kick-off, Kyle McAllister having picked up a knock in the warm-up. Jordan Garrick came into the side and Sean O’Brien onto the bench.

Ahead of kick-off fans applauded and paid tribute in song to legendary Blues boss Sir Bobby Robson on what would have been his 90th birthday.

Town started quickly with Clarke playing an opening minute ball down the right for Wes Burns, who cut back to Chaplin, who dug out a shot which was too close to Rovers keeper Ross Doohan.

But Chaplin didn’t have to wait too much longer for his 16th goal of the season. In the third minute, skipper Sam Morsy played a low ball into Broadhead’s feet a couple of yards outside the area and the January signing from Everton swept a first-time pass into the path of Chaplin, who ran into a large gap between Forest Green defenders before slipping past Doohan to the keeper’s right and into the corner of the net.

Forest Green struck their first effort of the game in the ninth minute, skipper Myles Peart-Harris hitting a deflected effort which looped behind Christian Walton’s goal.

A minute later, Leif Davis forced Doohan to save to his left, the left-back having taken the ball forward before striking a 25-yard shot which lost some of its sting having caught a defender on the way through.

Town continued to dominate and went very close to making it 2-0 in the 18th minute. Clarke played a ball over the top for Hirst, who deftly took it down but the on-loan Leicester man lifted it onto the top of the bar as well as over Doohan. Had he scored, it would have been one of the goals of the season.

Broadhead went close four minutes later. Chaplin played a ball into the January signing’s feet not far outside the area and he turned past his man before taking it on a stride or two and hitting a powerful shot which Doohan batted away.

Forest Green’s late replacement Garrick hit a low cross-shot to Walton in the 24th minute but the visitors had seen little of the ball and moments later, Davis scuffed wide from the left from Chaplin’s pass.

Town weren’t far away again just before the half hour when, following a looping Chaplin cross from the right which Davis had nodded back across goal, a loose ball fell to Burns on the edge of the box but the Welshman’s powerful shot was too close to Doohan, who was able to block and then claim as Chaplin hovered.


In the 36th minute, a corner from the left found Clarke deep on the right, the former Arsenal man took it inside before hitting a shot which deflected through to Doohan.

The second goal which Town had been threatening to score - and really should already have scored - finally came in the 41st minute.

Following a corner which was taken short on the right, Cameron Humphreys played a ball from just outside the area into the box and Broadhead wafted a right-foot volley to Doohan’s left and into the net, the forward’s second goal for the club.

Town went looking for further goals, Davis cutting back to Chaplin as the half moved into time added on, Jamie Robson making a terrific block. Within a minute, with the Blues maintaining the pressure, a Humphreys effort from just inside the box to the left was deflected wide.

Moments before the half-time whistle, Hirst headed over from another corner, the Blues’ seventh of the half.

The game had been one way traffic from the start with Town having gone close in the opening minute before Chaplin’s goal two minutes later from Broadhead’s clever first-time pass.

Having made the ideal start following Tuesday’s frustrations at the Memorial Stadium, the Blues continued to dominate and really should have taken at least one of their chances before Broadhead, who along with Hirst is looking sharper with every game, added the second.

Less than two minutes after the restart, the Blues should have made it 3-0. Davis was sent away on the left and crossed for Hirst, who knocked the ball back across Doohan but made a poor contact and Oliver Casey cleared.

Moments later, the striker took down a waist-high pass five yards outside the area and took an early shot but the ball flew well into the stand.

Soon after, Broadhead underwent treatment having been challenged as he ran onto a Humphreys through ball.

Forest Green made their first change in the 53rd minute, Tyrese Omotoye replacing Garrick.

Town made their first switch six minutes later, Luongo handed his second league debut for the club in place of Humphreys, who had had another impressive game but having played a lot of football in recent weeks.

And a minute later, as the game reached the hour mark, the Blues went three in front. Luongo having kept the ball alive earlier in the move, Davis sent over a low ball from the left and Chaplin slammed his 17th of the season into the net from a few feet.

Forest Green swapped Amadou Bakayoko, who moments earlier had been involved in a feud with Cameron Burgess, for Udoka Godwin-Malife, then Chaplin shot well wide from the right of the box as he went searching for his first Town hat-trick.

On 67, Burns cut in from the right and hit a shot from a tight angle which Doohan blocked, then Town swapped the Wales international, Hirst and Broadhead for Kayden Jackson, Ladapo and Kyle Edwards.

Four minutes later, Jackson was sent away on the right and cut back from the byline but the ball was turned behind ahead of Davis at the far post.

The visitors made a triple change on 74, Jahmari Clarke, Charlie McCann and O’Brien replacing Peart-Harris, Savage and Corey O’Keeffe.

A minute later, Ladapo sent Jackson away on the right, the former Accrington man cutting in and forcing Doohan to tip his well-struck shot over.

Soon after, Walton saw a clearance charged down when well out of his goal on the left but forced the ball out for a throw. As the visitors prepared to take it, Town replaced Chaplin with Marcus Harness, the double-goalscorer receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.

As the clock ticked over to 78, fans began to applaud in tribute to Robson’s 1978 FA Cup win. And as they did so, Town added their fourth of the afternoon.

Stevenson was booked for a late challenge on Edwards and Davis sent the free-kick from the left to the far post, Burgess nodded it across and sub Ladapo ran in at the other post to stoop and head home his 15th of the campaign.

The applause as the clock ticked over to 81 almost saw another goal, a loose ball falling to Davis on the left and the full-back, like Robson a Geordie, smashed a powerful half-volley against Doohan’s right post with the keeper motionless.

In the 88th minute, Davis shot high and wide from a Jackson cross from the right, the ball perhaps catching a Forest Green player just ahead of his strike.

At 90, there was further applause, for Robson’s birthday and Italia 90 when he took England to the World Cup semi-finals. The fourth official indicated four additional minutes.

Deep in injury time, Ladapo should have made it five but sent his header an inch or so the wrong side of the post having headed a right-wing cross back towards the corner of the net.

The Blues will rarely have a win as routine as this one having dominated from the start with the third-minute goal giving them the platform to build on.

Town had so many chances across the 90 minutes that they wouldn’t have been flattered had they doubled their goals tally with Forest Green having been unable to register a shot on target all afternoon.

Chaplin once again showed his predatory finishing to claim his two goals, while Broadhead and Hirst look increasingly sharp and integrated into the team.

The Blues climb back to third ahead of Bolton, who were beaten 1-0 at Wycombe Wanderers.

Plymouth are now eight points ahead of Town in second following a 0-0 draw at home to Fleetwood with Sheffield Wednesday returning to the top ahead of the Pilgrims on goal difference having come from behind twice to win 5-2 at home to the MK Dons, who Town visit next Saturday.

Town: Walton, Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Burns (Jackson 67), Morsy (c), Humphreys (Luongo 59), Davis, Chaplin (Harness 76), Broadhead (Edwards 67), Hirst (Ladapo 67). Unused: Hladky, Donacien.

Forest Green: Doohan, O’Keeffe (O’Brien 74), Bernard, Casey, Stevenson, Robson, Garrick (Omotoye 53), Bakayoko (Godwin-Malife 63), Cooper, Peart-Harris (c) (Clarke 74), Savage (McCann 74). Unused: Thomas, Brown. Referee: Carl Brook (Sussex). Att: 24,804 (Forest Green: 225).


Photo: Matchday Images



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Kickingblock added 17:09 - Feb 18
Just the tonic!
13

Stato added 17:10 - Feb 18
Thank you for the memories Sir Bobby and well done all today
26

chopra777 added 17:12 - Feb 18
Tractor boys 4 Massey Ferguson 0 . Keep on rolling Town.
4

thechangingman added 17:17 - Feb 18
I am hoping this will infect the team (and us fans!) with enthusiasm and confidence, and leave us all wanting MORE for the times ahead...

COYB!!

6

ringwoodblue added 17:21 - Feb 18
That's more like it! Please let this be the start of a long winning run.

13

DaGremloid added 17:21 - Feb 18
A win and remembering Sir Bobby. A good day.

20

TimmyH added 17:24 - Feb 18
As expected 3 points against a side going back down to L2...the most comfortable victory this season and certainly should of added more so well done all, BUT our main problem lies away from PR, we need to boss sides and be clinical with a more direct plan b if we're struggling to score.

Hopefully this will be a morale booster but MK away will be a totally different cup of tea from this game...
15

martin587 added 17:26 - Feb 18
Good win against a very poor team but hopefully this will kick start the rest of the season.Although not pushed the defense looks solid and K Mc should keep these together now Luongo looks solid and will be excellent cover in the middle.All goals well taken and Chaplin looks very sharp.Harder game next Saturday but should overcome that.Well done lads.Support great once again and the tribute to Sir Bobby was superb.
18

Help added 17:31 - Feb 18
Good scoreline but not the most convincing performance did what was needed to win. But still many errors. Chappers by far and away the best on the pitch again. Needs to be on from the start every game. Always good for a goal. Were given time and space to play by FGR and should have scored more. Need to build on this next week.
8

iaintaylorx added 17:32 - Feb 18
That's just what we needed and let's take that into MK! What an away day that's going to be, gutted I couldn't get a ticket!
1

HopefulBlue69 added 17:33 - Feb 18
A good win for us and with Plymouth/ Bolton not winning it makes it even more sweet... I do however wonder why we again made so many changes.... Will we start a settled team against MK in Sat....
6

Miaow added 17:35 - Feb 18
That Ladapo miss at the end was a right shocker! We really ought to have scored more - we could have got at least double our four - and were frustrating at times but it was a comfortable and very welcome win. Anything other than that today wouldn't have gone down too well so we can be pleased with the three points and clean sheet. Chaplin reaching 17 for the season is a good achievement - he will surely get to 20 - and Ladapo got himself another. Just need to keep winning now and hope the teams above and around us slip up a bit.
7

blueboy1981 added 17:40 - Feb 18
You can only beat what is put in front of you, and Big Dunc's appointment will have given FGR a huge boost, as he will not accept less than 100% from anyone.
Therefore an Excellent Result today, the fact that the opposition are bottom of the Table, should be overlooked.
Well Done All.
Less Rotation McKenna, and let's see more of Ladapo and Chaplin - and a ‘settled' Team, if Promotion is the target still …. !!!
10

blueboy1981 added 17:47 - Feb 18
Remembering OUR LEGEND - Today and Always.
R.I.P. Our Sir Bobby Robson. 🕊️⚽️
14

EssexTractor added 17:48 - Feb 18
No less than 4-0 should have been the score and so it was.
There were quiet spells and the requirement for that second goal at that time meant half time was more cheerful.
FGR presented not threat at all , and in fairness never sought to even claim a point with negative tactics.
So to individuals, firstly never leave Chaplin out , be concerned about Burns , as Jackson in his 20 minutes was more threatening , hope that Loungo can stay fit and be available and be glad that Broadhead is ours and not a loan player, he is good .
The memory of Sir Bobby brilliantly underlined by Freddie's goal in that special minute
3

runningout added 17:56 - Feb 18
nothing to shout to the rooftops about…. Move on :-)
0

Bazza8564 added 18:09 - Feb 18
Job done, you can only beat who is in front of you, hopefully the run we need starts now, MK away, Burton and Accrington Home are another 9 points we need.
Much better tempo today at times, when we move the ball quickly we look awesome, when we dwell too long its quickly shuts off.
Burgess inst a natural passer but even he was moving it quicker second half and the difference in Morsy between a quick release and a slow one is huge.
Highlight for me though was that 20 minutes from Luongo, he could be absolutely key in the run in
9

Gforce added 18:11 - Feb 18
Expected a good win today and we got it although we should have boosted that goal difference a bit more.
Hopefully we can now take some confidence into the MK match.Ill take nothing for granted though, the last time we won 4-0 ,we were terrible in the match,against the mighty Cambridge.Must do better this time around!!
5

Karlosfandangal added 18:13 - Feb 18
I wonder if the Plymouth fans were swearing at their players after a 0-0 draw today.

Or is it just Ipswich fans
-2

Gforce added 18:16 - Feb 18
"Next match"
0

terryf added 18:16 - Feb 18
Thought the boys were on it from the off and throughout the game today and we nearly had the ideal celebration for Bobby, scoring a goal in the 78th minute and hitting the post in the 81st. O.K Forest Green are probably the weakest Team that's been down to PR this season but you still have to go out and perform. Chaplin was man of the match for me but Broadhead also looked a class above.
We now need to keep the momentum going and be more ruthless in the box. How many times this season do we seem to find the goalkeeper rather than hitting the angles. Where Teams want to play a low block so players need to be brave and take on a defender and where we can lets get to the byline, pull the ball back rather than just hit and hope across the box. Players running in late are hard to pick up. Still feel we are in with a shout of the top two if we can get a good run going. Today should be just the start.
6

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 18:19 - Feb 18
A good performance, but hard to evaluate against such weak opposition. Anything other than a clear win would have been considered a failure. Luongo could be key in the last part of the season, and in the playoffs if it comes to that. Humphreys is good and has a great future, but Luongo has strength and experience. I thought he looked very effective in the short time he was on today. COYB!
11

algarvefan added 18:20 - Feb 18
No noise from the whinging boys, no noise............

In all seriousness it wasn't our best performance but we have steadied the ship and look to push on next weekend, all we can do is our best every weekend and like today our opponents will drop points.
-5

jas0999 added 18:25 - Feb 18
Straight forward and well deserved win against a very poor team. But, you can only beat what's in front of you, and I thought we did that extremely well today, unlike the Cambridge and Bristol draws. Great team performance all round and now time to go on a winning run. Well done all. Superb way to celebrate the great Sir Bobby.
5

Saxonblue74 added 18:30 - Feb 18
4-0 at a canter, and could easily have been 6,7, 8 even. 2 points gained on Plymouth and Bolton so a very good day in my book. No surprise to see plenty of "buts" and "howevers" on here I guess.
2


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