Ipswich Town enjoyed a supremely comfortable evening as they got their Papa John’s Trophy campaign off to a winning start against Northampton.
The hosts had this game as good as won after just 16 minutes, thanks to two Marcus Harness goals, as the attacker did finally make it onto the scoresheet, after his strike against Barnsley was controversially struck off on Saturday.
Greg Leigh made it three before the break, on a night where Kyle Edwards enjoyed a confidence boosting evening on the right flank and both Richard Keogh and Dominic Ball made their Town debuts.
Cameron Burgess scored his first Town goal after the interval, as he headed home Cameron Humphreys’ excellent cross, before George Edmundson hit the fifth as he forced an effort from a corner over the line.
The biggest cheer of the night came in stoppage time, as Ladapo fired home from the edge of the Northampton box to open his Ipswich account.
The comfortable victory did come at something of a cost, though, with Conor Chaplin picking up a knock in the warm-up which meant he wasn’t able to take his place on the bench, while Sone Aluko suffered a first-half injury which saw him limp off before the break.
Ball also spent much of the second period limping, but was able to complete the 90 minutes.
Elsewhere in Town’s group, Arsenal’s Under 21s beat Cambridge 2-0 at the Abbey Stadium, with the young Gunners Town’s next Trophy opponents on September 20.
As expected, boss Kieran McKenna made 11 changes to the side which drew with Barnsley on Saturday, as he distributed minutes throughout his squad.
Vaclav Hladky made his second appearance of the season in goal, behind a back four of Kane Vincent-Young, Keogh, Burgess and Leigh.
Ball made a long-awaited debut in the middle of midfield alongside youngster Humphreys, with Edwards, Aluko and Harness operating behind central striker Kayden Jackson. There was a late change on the bench, with Chaplin suffering an injury in the warm-up and Zanda Siziba taking his place in the 18.
The Blues were instantly on the front foot, with Northampton leaving the Ipswich attackers with far too much room to work, which Aluko and Edwards looked to exploit from the off.
The two were involved in the Town opener, which took a little over 10 minutes to arrive, with Edwards sending in a cross which Harness climbed above Harvey Lintott to reach, looping a header back across goal and in off both the bar and post.
Five minutes later and it was two, as a short corner involving both Aluko and Edwards saw Harness have a shot saved and Ball try to turn towards goal, before Harness was able to find the back of the net with a shot which appeared to take a bounce off of a Northampton boot on its way into the net.
With Ipswich two up inside 20 minutes, you had to feel the game was up, though the visitors did retain a mild threat as Kieron Bowie shot harmlessly wide of the Town goal.
The Town third arrived on 26 minutes and again came from the boot of Edwards, who teased Max Dyche, son of former Burnley boss Sean, on the edge of the box before standing up a cross which Leigh was able to climb highest to head home. He again beat Lintott in the air, as the defender’s night went from bad to worse – he would be replaced at the break..
The Blues were cruising but, having also lost Chaplin in the warm-up, they suffered an injury blow as skipper Aluko left the contest with an injury suffered in contact, which led to the experienced attacker hobbling off and Siziba replacing him.
Hladky maybe got away with handling outside his box, as he came between Keogh and Louis Appere to meet a through-ball, before the Blues headed to the home dressing room with a three-goal advantage.
Kieran McKenna made two changes at the break, with Freddie Ladapo and Tyreece John-Jules replacing Jackson and Harness, with the Blues attacking from the off.
Edwards put a teasing ball through the box which was just a yard or so ahead of John-Jules, before the latter freed Ladapo through the middle of the pitch, only for the striker to have his shot saved by Jonny Maxted.
Town weren’t to be denied for long, though, as Humphreys played a superb ball back into the box after a Town free-kick had broken down, allowing Burgess to get above his man and head back across goal into the corner of the net.
Keogh departed on 68 minutes, handing the armband to Edmundson as his Ipswich debut came to an end, with Ball continuing to hobble on after appearing to suffer a knock to his ankle.
The final change of the night saw former Under 18s captain Fraser Alexander replace Humphreys, to make his debut, with the youngster soon teeing up Ladapo for a shot which was deflected over the top.
The following corner led to Town’s fifth, which was turned home by Edmundson after Ball’s effort was blocked, as the Ipswich rout looked to be complete, only for Ladapo to fire home from the edge of the box to score his first Town goal, following good work by Leigh.
IPSWICH TOWN (3-4-2-1): Hladky; Vincent-Young, Keogh (Edmundson 68), Burgess; Edwards, Ball, Humphreys (Alexander 81), Leigh; Aluko (cpt) (Siziba 42), Harness (John-Jules 46); Jackson (Ladapo 46).
Subs: Hayes, Morsy.
Booked: Ball (44).
NORTHAMPTON TOWN (4-3-3): Maxted; Linottt (Koiki 46), Odimayo (Tomlinson 79), Dyche, Haynes; McWilliams (cpt), Pinnock, Fox (Abimola 75); Bowie (Leonard 46), Hylton (Cross 65), Appere.
Subs: Ngwa, Dadge.
Referee: Tom Reeves.
Attendance: 5,342.
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