‘It’s been a while coming... hopefully there will be many more to come’ - Judge on finally opening his Ipswich account
Alan Judge celebrates scoring at Lincoln in Town's long-awaited FA Cup win. Picture: PAGEPIX
Alan Judge hopes his dramatic winning goal is the first of many now he’s finally opened his account for the club.
The Irishman finished clinically four minutes into added time to ensure the Blues moved into round two of the FA Cup, with a 1-0 victory over Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.
It's been a long time coming for the Irishman, with his first Ipswich goal coming in his 33rd Town game and ending a run of 45 matches without finding the net for former club Brentford, the Blues and at international level for the Republic of Ireland.
The 31-year-old, who has recently admitted he has been far from his best at the start of the season but feels his best form is returning, is now hopeful he can contribute with goals on a much more regular basis.
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"It's been a while coming and it's something I have thought about, not scoring because I've got goals in the past," Judge said in an interview with the club website.
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"It was great to see it go in and obviously it was the perfect time as well because it won us the game.
"I've had chances and hit the woodwork a few times but now I've got my first, hopefully there will be many more to come."
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"It's nice to get that out of the way now," he added, when discussing the Blues 10-year wait for an FA Cup win. "It's good for the Club that we're in the next round and we will see what happens at Coventry. The focus now though is on Saturday."
Judge will be hoping to start today when Ipswich host Blackpool in what is their first League One game in 17 days, due to a succession of cup games and the postponement of the scheduled visit to Oxford last weekend due to international call-ups.
The midfielder was away with his country but didn't feature in either of the games against New Zealand or Denmark, before returning to start at Sincil Bank.
Judge's late winner sent the 607 Ipswich fans wild and saw Paul Lambert and his coaching staff run up the touchline to celebrate, with team-mate Flynn Downes, rested for the replay, delighted to see him get off the mark.
"I wish I was there to see it," Downes said. "Judgey has had a tough time this season, but I think he's back to his best now."
Judge will be hoping to start this afternoon when Blackpool visit Portman Road.