For the third time in four seasons, Ipswich Town have been defeated by League Two opposition in the EFL Cup. However, this time the Blues are a Premier League club and despite having six debutants there are few excuses for defeat.
The Tractor Boys started strong and took an early lead through former Don, Ali Al-Hamadi. Conor Townsend whipped in a corner and an unmarked Al-Hamadi met it with a powerful header.
Midway through the first half the Dons had a strike from Omar Bugiel controversially disallowed for offside. However, Bugiel was to get his goal with a bullet header from a free kick just before half-time.
Against the run of play the Dons capitalised on another free kick, this time Bugiel's strike partner Matty Stevens diverted an excellent header into the top right-hand corner to give Wimbledon a shock lead.
The smallest player on the pitch, Conor Chaplin equalised for the Blue Army with five minutes to play. Chaplin was somehow allowed to outjump the keeper, showing bravery and aggression with the fourth-headed goal of the game.
A couple of weak pens from Jack Taylor and Omari Hutchinson ensured the Dons' progression to the third round and a Premier League scalp in the form of the Tractor Boys.
Here are the four key takeaways for Ipswich following this defeat:
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A mixed bag from the debutants
The Blues had six debutants and made ten changes to the lineup against Manchester City.
Jens Cajuste arguably looked the most promising, especially in the first half. He was always showing for the ball and has already looked to have picked up the rotations our left-sided pivot player makes into left back. He also broke up a couple of Dons attacking transitions.
His midfield partner on the other hand, the most high-profile player to play in the game, Kalvin Phillips was a yard off the pace which is understandable considering his lack of football in recent years. His passing was hit-and-miss.
Conor Townsend put up a solid showing at left-back with an assist but it is hard to make an assessment on Chiedozie Ogbene's opening 45 minutes in a Town shirt considering he was signed the morning of the game.
Jack Clarke was very lively, the ball was glued to his feet and he was so dangerous when driving at his full-back. Dara O'Shea also showed positive signs on the ball but had a couple of tough moments defensively in the second half.
All in all plenty of positives to take from the debutants and it will be intriguing to see which have shown enough from their cameo to feature in the Fulham game on Saturday.
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Lack of fluidity
As expected with six debutants there was a lack of fluidity as the majority of players on the pitch had never played with each other and are yet to build relationships.
In terms of possession, the Blues were dominant, with 79% of the ball, so there are positives to take in that regard. However, there was little productivity from the Blues despite dominating that much of the ball.
Do not let the 20 shots Ipswich supposedly had fool you because Owen Goodman in the Wimbledon goal had very little action to trouble him. The majority of the 20 shots were either long shots, blocked or off-target.
Both the left side and the right side were on different wavelengths and the Blue Army was waiting for one of the attackers to take the game by the scruff of the neck and show some creativity to unlock a compact and robust Dons low block.
Uncharacteristically for Kieran Mckenna's Blues, defensive set pieces were the key catalyst in Ipswich's defeat, although perhaps not surprising with an unfamiliar backline. A high Town line was caught out twice from wide free kicks. The usual colossus in the air Cameron Burgess was twice beaten to the ball.
This proves the Blues will have to remain patient and it will clearly take time for McKenna to bed the new signings into the starting eleven instead of shoe-horning them all in.
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Ali Al-Hamadi still knows how to score goals at Plough Lane
The ex-Dons goal machine Al-Hamadi, who scored 13 goals and 6 assists in the first half of the 2023/2024 season for Wimbledon, marked his return to Plough Lane with a goal.
As expected Al-Hamadi showed how much of a class act he is, showing respect and apologising to the Wombles faithful after opening the scoring.
There are still question marks over Ali-Hamadi's future, with the Blue Army pursuing another striker to conclude their transfer business, which could drag into deadline day.
Al-Hamadi will likely drop back down to the Championship on loan which will be great for him to pick up more experience, goals and minutes.
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Have Ipswich signed too many players?
Whilst it was clear Ipswich needed heavy recruitment to be competitive in this league, have Town now gone overboard by signing 12 players which will likely become 13 by the deadline day? The Blue Army can field an entire eleven out of new signings.
The spending of over £100m has put additional pressure on Kieran McKenna who has been heavily backed and will need to gel the squad and get them learning the patterns of play as quickly as possible.
Adding a lot of new players into a settled and successful environment can upset the balance, as was seen last season at Burnley. What distinguishes Burnley's recruitment from the Tractor Boys is that they used the European market for their recruitment when, in comparison, the Blues have only signed one non-domestic player (Cajuste). This may aid the integration process.
Town fans will hope that McKenna can quickly blend the new signings into the squad without losing the phenomenal team spirit and cohesion that propelled the Blues to back-to-back promotions.
