Ipswich Town crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round, falling to a 3-1 defeat against Fulham at Portman Road.
The Blues struggled to find their feet and paid the price, with Harry Wilson, Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney all finding the back of the net before Elkan Baggott's late header, which proved to be no more than a consolation goal.
Fulham ended up taking the lead just nine minutes into the game as Bobby Decordova-Reid picked up the ball in a central area, playing two wide men into acres of space down the right, one of which was Wilson. The Wales international ran through as Christian Walton rushed off his line, allowing him to work the ball around the goalkeeper and slot the ball into an empty net.
They came close to a second just six minutes later as Fode Ballo-Toure was afforded far too much time down the left, allowing him to float a cross into the box. It looked like a poor delivery, but ended up clipping the crossbar before Ipswich could clear the danger.
With the way the game was going, Town needed a slice of luck. They almost had it in the 17th minute when Marek Rodak’s poor pass was pounced on by Kayden Jackson, who rushed forward and tested the goalkeeper with a powerful effort, winning a corner that ended with a wayward shot from Janoi Donacien.
The Blues thrive on playing quick football on the counter, catching teams out of their natural shape, but the issue came when Fulham started dominating possession rather than trying to get at Kieran McKenna’s side like Wolves did. Their slow build-up play and immense discipline presented very few opportunities to run at the back line.
When they did go for goal, like Andreas Pereira did from distance on the half-hour mark, they were never far away from doubling the lead.
The tempo didn’t improve in the latter stages of the half, but Fulham had one more big chance before the break as debutant Axel Tuanzebe cleared a cross as far as Calvin Bassey, who fired a shot at goal with the outside of his boot. Walton palmed it against his own post, with the ball trickling back the other way before Town could clear.
It was much of the same after the break, where Ipswich tried to revert to the expansive style that they're known for to test Fulham's back line. Ultimately, the quality shone through, and the Cottagers doubled their lead five minutes after the restart.
Andreas Pereira played a superb low pass from the right flank, which cut through the hosts' back line and bobbled through to Muniz. From there, the striker had a simple finish, tapping the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
The second goal really took the sting out of the game, dampening the mood at Portman Road. Unlike the win in the previous round against Wolves, it felt like Fulham had taken Town out of the game entirely. Chances were few and far between, and the visitors were happy to toy with their opponents rather than going for the kill.
Late substitutions ultimately changed that as both sides brought on some of their regular starters, but it was Fulham's Reid who helped to wrap up the win. It was his low ball from the right that set up an onrushing Cairney, who slotted the ball through Walton to make it 3-0 with 13 minutes to play.
A defiant Portman Road joined together to remind the players of their league position, which was met by a late consolation goal from Elkan Baggott, who scored his first senior goal for Town in the 79th minute as he headed Jack Taylor's corner into the net from close range.
A late flurry of chances encouraged the hosts, who had a chance to reduce the deficit in the 90th minute, missing a header from close range. However, despite eight minutes of added time, they couldn't find a way back into the game as Fulham progressed to quarter-finals.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Walton; Donacien (Humphreys 70'), Tuanzebe, Burgess (Baggott 61'), Clarke; Ball, Taylor; Jackson, Aluko (Humphreys 61'), Harness; Ladapo (Hirst 70')
Attendance: 28,221 (1,685 away)
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