Ipswich Town are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup after a convincing victory over Championship side Rotherham United at Portman Road.
Freddie Ladapo netted against his former club, alongside a first half goal from Cameron Humphreys and two second half penalties from Conor Chaplin and Wes Burns.
Conor Washington scored a penalty of his own early in the second half after he was brought down by Blues’ veteran defender Richard Keogh.
But it was the League One promotion challengers who were dominant throughout much of the game and sees them knock out the Millers at the first stage of entry for the South Yorkshire outfit.
Here is what we learnt from the game.
Long time no see
It has been a while since Ipswich were last in the fourth round of the FA Cup. 13 years to be precise.
The Tractor Boys had been knocked out in their last nine straight appearances in the third round of the world-famous competition and had not even reached this stage since dropping out of the Championship in 2019.
So the earlier round victories over non-league sides Bracknell Town and Buxton were somewhat of a relief for a side who have such history in the competition after lifting the trophy in 1978.
Ipswich have now won three cup ties in a season for the first time in 30 years.
“The club's not been in the fourth round for so long,” manager Kieran McKenna said after the game. “Credit to the supporters who are here today, I know it's not easy to come out for these games.
“If we get a home day tie against one of the really big teams in the country or against a team that we really fancy going up against and challenge and against, or an away game and a day out for the fans.
“It's been so long since we've been in the fourth round that the fans will hopefully enjoy it either way.”
The Blues have had an extremely poor record in the FA Cup over the last 15 years, but maybe now the tide is turning in their favour.
McKenna’s men will find out their next opponents on Sunday afternoon.
The real deal
Humphreys fired Ipswich in front just before half-time with a cool and composed finish into the bottom corner.
It was his second goal in as many games after netting the equaliser at Lincoln City on Monday and his third goal of the campaign overall.
Ipswich’s latest academy product has now notched up 20 first team appearances and is very much a part of McKenna’s senior squad of players that he has to choose from.
Town fans will give you rave reviews about him, and his versatility means he can play as a central midfielder or as an attacking outlet in the number 10 position.
Just this week, Humphreys was named in the EFL’s ’21 Under 21’ list of young talents from across the Football League.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable with each game,” he said. “I think it’s brilliant to play in a team that’s doing so well and with players that have been really helpful to me.
“They’ve made the step up as easy as it can be, so I think it’s a credit to them that I felt so welcomed.”
For a player of his quality and a player who speaks so maturely, it can often be forgotten that Humphreys is only 19 years of age.
Road to full health
Ipswich have been dealing with somewhat of an illness crisis in the last week or so with as little as two players not reporting symptoms of an apparent bug that has been circulating among the group.
McKenna revealed in the week that he feels the squad are through the worst of it and it was clear to see that was the case against Rotherham.
The team appeared far more cohesive in the way they were going about their play and got their just rewards with the four goals that they scored. Leif Davis and George Edmundson, who both missed the trip to Sincil Bank, were bank among the squad.
It is also a testament to the squad depth that Ipswich have available to them. While it remained a strong team that could start in the league with no problems, there were eight changes.
Captain Sam Morsy, flying winger Burns and first team regular Marcus Harness could all be afforded to take a place on the substitutes bench.
McKenna will be hoping for near full availability going into a top-of-the-table clash with Plymouth Argyle next Saturday.
Town can compete
McKenna was keen to stress in the build up to the match that he did not see the clash with Championship opposition as a marker, as his side fight to return to the second-tier this season.
But, despite the struggles in the Rotherham side at the minute, it is difficult not to consider the comfort in the victory as a relative success over a team from the division above.
The opposition they faced was about as strong as the Millers could have managed, too.
McKenna said: “I know the improvement in us as a team, even from when we played Rotherham at home last year in the league, I know that we've improved and developed as a team.
“I think that performances have been a really consistently high level, I thought today was another really high-level performance.
“If we do that, we know we're a really difficult team to play against and we are a match for an awful lot of football teams and that was a that was continued today.”
Ipswich’s strength is only likely to be increased this month as the January transfer window takes shape, with the club already acquiring midfielder Massimo Luongo on a free transfer from Middlesbrough. He was an unused substitute.
Forwards George Hirst, who was in attendance to watch his potential new side, and Nathan Broadhead are targets who are widely reported to be close to joining the Blues.
Depleted squad
Rotherham, even when all are fully fit, do not have the largest squad size in the Championship.
So, when several key players are missing, manager Matt Taylor is having little room to work with.
The Millers boss, with eyes on a crucial league calendar, may have wanted to rest some key men in the cup tie in Suffolk. As it was, there were few names who could have replaced them.
As a result, there was just the one change from the defeat at Millwall on New Year’s Day. Only seven players were named on a bench out of a possible nine.
“When we’ve got a fully fit squad, we can be more flexible with what we’ve got,” Taylor said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t got that at the moment.
“I’ve no other players to pick. That’s not an excuse it’s the position I’m in at the moment. If there are other players who can play in those positions differently, I’ve yet to see them at the club.”
Georgie Kelly, Grant Hall, Tom Eaves, Josh Vickers, and Lee Peltier were all missing, while key midfielder Ben Wiles is out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery on Tuesday.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy has been recalled from his loan by Arsenal, with Scott High also expected to be recalled by Huddersfield Town.
In addition, Dan Barlaser has been repeatedly linked with a move away from the New York Stadium this month.
Taylor has been calling for some help in the transfer market.
An unwelcome distraction
For Rotherham, the game at Ipswich was seen as a bit of respite from the gruelling league calendar that the Championship has to offer.
Defeat and exiting the competition is not the end of the world as far as the Millers and their supporters are concerned.
It was perhaps the manner of defeat that would have been tough to take, though, with Rotherham offering very little and often finding themselves camped in their own half against opposition from the league below.
But United have a chance to revive themselves comes next weekend when Blackburn Rovers are in town for a match under the cameras of Sky Sports.
With one win in 13 matches, the Millers could do with something to revitalise their season as they bid to avoid an immediate return to League One.
The wait goes on
Rotherham themselves have endured a horrid run in the FA Cup in recent years, with defeat at Ipswich the latest in a string of exits at this stage of the competition.
The club have been knocked out in the third round in eight of the last nine seasons. The one time they didn’t was a first round defeat to Crewe Alexandra in 2017.
They have not reached the fourth round for 21 years and have reached the fifth round twice in the club’s history.
With no more cup matches for the rest of the season, Taylor’s men have 20 matches to ensure it is another entry at the third round stage in 12 months’ time.