Ipswich Town 6-0 Sheffield Wednesday: Terry Hunt on Blues

The result was never in doubt, and what a luxury it was to relax and enjoy the second half safe in the knowledge that the match was won.

Best of all, what a way to bounce back from the gut-wrenching late defeat at Cardiff. I bet I wasn’t the only Town fan who worried about the psychological scars that might leave. Not a bit of it!

From the first few minutes, it was clear that this was going to be a good day. Our passing was slick and crisp, our movement off the ball was dynamic, and our finishing was clinical.

Sam Morsy and Lewis Travis enjoy the big win (Image: Ross Halls)
Our visitors, who had been in good form, simply couldn’t cope. By the end, they were run ragged and there were a few embarrassing comedy defending moments.

I have to say the way Wednesday set up completely played into our hands. Their high press gave us so much room to play our football. I hate saying this, but they would have been better served just trying to spoil the game and stop us playing.

Star of the show, undoubtedly, was Omari Hutchinson, playing in the number ten role because of Conor Chaplin’s injury. I’ve said many times that Hutchinson has the potential to reach the very top.

He certainly has the sublime talent, and is obviously eager to learn, as we can all see from the impressive improvement he’s made during his time with us.

He scored two really good goals, was involved in a couple of others, and I was particularly impressed with his maturity when he set up Ali Al-Hamadi for the sixth. No-one would have criticised him for going for his hat-trick, but he did the grown-up, unselfish thing and gave his team-mate a tap-in.

Ali Al-Hamadi celebrates one of his goals (Image: Ross Halls)
I see some people are comparing Hutchinson with Gio dos Santos, who up to now has been our undisputed best loanee, certainly in my mind. Well, Gio has some competition now.

The platform for that impressive, thrilling victory was the midfield dominance established by Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo. When these two are at their best, working in tandem, there is no more impressive midfield duo in this division.

I’ll ask again...what on earth were Middlesbrough thinking of, letting them go? How on earth did Paul Cook - credit goes him - persuade Morsy to drop to League One, when he is clearly a top Championship performer, at the very least?

The only downside on Saturday was the sad sight of Wes Burns limping off with what is obviously a serious hamstring injury. Will we see the dynamic Welshman rampaging down the right-wing again this season?

Burns has had a stop-start season, punctuated by injuries, but when he’s been fully fit he has been outstanding. We will certainly miss him, as will Wales.

Who will replace Burns as we reach the business end of the season? Well, Kieran McKenna went with Kayden Jackson against Sheffield Wednesday, when I think most supporters were expecting Jeremy Sarmiento to come on.

Jackson remains a player who divides opinion, but McKenna obviously rates him and, to be fair, he did well on Saturday, including a sublime curling cross for Nathan Broadhead’s goal.

Kayden Jackson sets up Nathan Broadhead for his goal (Image: Steve Waller)
Maybe we’ll see a combination of Jackson, Sarmiento and Hutchinson filling Burns’ boots, depending on the opponents. One thing is sure - McKenna and co will have a carefully thought through plan.

So, now we have a break of nearly two weeks to recharge batteries before the big Easter weekend, with a trip to Blackburn and then Southampton at Portman Road on Easter Monday.

The big games keep on coming, and you just know this promotion race will go right down to the wire. This is what being a football fan is all about. Let’s lap it up!