LUKE Hyam caught the eye as he scored twice in front of new manager Mick McCarthy as Ipswich Town defeated Walsham-le-Willows 5-1 in the John Banks Suffolk Premier Cup last night.

Hyam scored the only goal of the first half at Summer Road then netted the best goal of the night from fully 30 yards to make it 3-0.

Jason Scotland had added the second in the 51st minute and Michael Chopra and Ronan Murray also got on the scoresheet before Jack Brame scored a consolation goal for gallant Walsham.

Walsham certainly held their own in the opening period against a Town side featuring nine players who have figured in the first team this season plus summer signing Elliott Hewitt and Kelly Youga, who joined the club on a short-term contract yesterday. If anything, the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division side looked the more threatening in the early stages.

The visitors created their first chance in the 13th minute, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas cutting in and forcing Duncan McAnally to save with his legs at his near post.

Ipswich should have taken the lead on the half-hour when Chopra’s shot was beaten out by McAnally but Hyam could not lift his shot over the keeper.

But the same pair combined four minutes later to put Ipswich into the lead, Hyam winning a tackle and feeding Chopra on the left and his square pass across the face of the box was met by Hyam’s crisp shot into the bottom near corner.

Walsham almost equalised when Scott Loach, who was substituted in the 74th minute with a knee injury, pushed out Paul Musgrove’s free-kick and when the ball came back into the box Brame slid his shot wide.

Bilel Mohsni had an anxious wait before being given a yellow card five minutes into the second half after clipping the heels of Ollie Hughes as the striker looked to race clear, but within a minute Scotland ran through to finish well from Emmanuel-Thomas’s flick.

Byron Lawrence, one of several second-half substitutes, set up Hyam to fire into the roof of the net in the 67th minute and five minutes later McAnally saved first Andy Drury’s deflected effort and Chopra’s follow up. But Chopra was not to be denied and after Emmanuel-Thomas shot powerfully into the side netting, last season’s leading scorer, produced a composed finish across the keeper after Emmanuel-Thomas had played him in with 80 minutes gone.

Emmanuel-Thomas then produced a pinpoint crossfield pass over the top of the defence for Murray to round McAnally and slot home the fifth in the 84th minute.

Walsham deservedly scored a consolation in the third minute of injury time, Brame lashing home high into the net after Ipswich had failed to clear a right-wing corner.

Ipswich will now be away to Felixstowe & Walton United in the quarter-finals of the competition.

The line-ups

Walsham: D McAnally, L Sim, A Cusack, M Morton (sub C Robinson 57 mins), T Newman, P Musgrove, S Thorrold (sub T Agricole 66 mins), R Foster, O Hughes, J Tatham (sub W Brown 77 mins), J Brame. Unused subs: Elliot Smith, Liam Bryant.

Ipswich: S Loach, (sub M Crowe 74 mins) E Hewitt, K Youga, L Hyam, J Ainsley, B Mohsni, N Ellington (sub B Lawrence 57 mins), A Drury, J Scotland (sub R Murray 66 mins), M Chopra, J Emmanuel-Thomas. Unused subs: J Whight, M Crowe, G Thorsteinsson.

Referee: Mark Potkins.

Attendance: 745.