Ipswich out of the Carabao Cup following 3-1 loss to Fulham
The Blues leave the competition in the fourth-round stage
Ipswich are out of the Carabao Cup following a 3-1 home defeat to Fulham.
The Premier League side took the lead inside 10 minutes thanks to Harry Wilson, before Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney both scored to give the Craven Cottage side a three-goal lead during the second half.
Elkan Baggott hit the back of the net in the 79th minute for Town, scoring his first goal for Town, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Blues’ run in the competition from coming to an end at the fourth-round stage.
Changes to the side
Manager Kieran McKenna had made 11 changes to the side which beat Plymouth 3-2 on Saturday.
In goal, Christian Walton featured for the first time since suffering a foot injury in pre-season.
Janoi Donacien and Harry Clarke started in the wide defensive areas, with Cameron Burgess joining Axel Tuanzebe at the heart of defence, with the former Manchester United player making his Town debut.
Jack Taylor and Dom Ball were in midfield, with Kayden Jackson, Marcus Harness and captain Sone Aluko lining up behind Freddie Ladapo in attack.
"A tough game but one we’ll be much stronger for"
While boss Kieran McKenna says he was frustrated to see his side knocked out, he also says he was pleased with many aspects of the performance and believes his team will benefit from it in the long run: “It was a tough game but one we’ll be much stronger for,” he told TownTV after the game.
“We conceded an early goal against a team with the strength Fulham had, with players coming back into the team after injury and out of match rhythm, so it was always going to be a massive ask.
“The players stuck at it and there was maximum effort as always, so no complaints on that, and I’m really pleased with the way we kept pushing to the end.
“The game can run away from you if you don’t have the right spirit and mentality in the group but there were a few moments in that spell at the start of the second that I really, really liked where we dug in and gave ourselves a chance to stay in the game.
“We got a goal back and kept pushing right to the very end, having another chance through Omari (Hutchinson) and we will be much, much stronger for tonight.”