FAC Cup (R4) - Ipswich Town vs Maidstone United Preview & Matchday Thread

[Frosty]

Ipswich Town v Maidstone United


FA Cup – Round 4


Saturday 27th January 2024 – 15:00


Portman Road







Pre Match Thoughts - Mike


Finally the end of the December/January period has arrived, a period many felt would define our season, on paper about as tough as it gets with Leicester twice, Leeds away, Norwich at Home, Middlesbrough & Watford away, Sunderland & Coventry City at Home, just take a look at the current league table if you don't know it already and tell me that isn't about as hard as it gets over a Two month period and yet here we are still in the second automatic promotion spot, and all this despite having the guts of the team ripped out through injury, suspension and unavailability.

As I have mentioned before if we could get to the end of that run of games and still be in contention we have a fab chance and everything to play for. the way we started the season has meant Southampton have had to go on a record breaking streak to catch us up and yet they still sit below us after a Twenty game unbeaten run, quite incredible. add to that they have without question had the kinder fixtures while we have toiled through those tough set of games, the tables will turn in that respect in the coming weeks and it is very much in our own hands as to if we can capitalise.

Monday nights deserved draw at the King Power Stadium against "champions elect" Leicester City was the proverbial game of Two halves for sure, Town just could not get going in the opening half with Leicester very much on top and dictating every aspect of the game, quite why we were so off it is anyone's guess but we looked as if we were in awe of them, scared almost and a yard off the pace in every department, thanks to Vaclav Hladky in Town's goal we went in only One behind and still very much in the contest.

Thankfully whatever Kieran Mckenna said at half time worked a treat as Town came out a different side and took the game to our hosts, a much higher and aggressive press certainly rattled them and caught them off guard, now it was Town calling the shots and creating chances although Hladky did still come to the rescue on more than One occasion in that second half.

The substitutions were inspired and changed the end result and by the time Jeremy Sarmiento rammed home the equaliser to send the Town fans into raptures we had done more than enough to secure a priceless point and with it back into second place in the table, in fact had we had another ten minutes on the clock I have little doubt we would have gone on to get the win, Leicester were visibly wilting and to a degree holding on. on the night I thought Hladky was immense and Woolfy excellent too but the introduction of Hutchinson, Broadhead & Sarmiento clearly turned the tide in our favour.

We now have players hopefully returning with Sam Morsy definitely free from his ban while Massimo was fit to start too, it shouldn't be long before Cameron Burgess returns to the fold either, add to that we are all praying for those new signings to be announced, especially Strikers as right now we basically have None, loaning out Ladapo would be seen as madness if something is not in the pipeline and hearing Mckenna speak on this after the game I am confident we are not too far away from bringing at least someone in the door. The Fixture list, on paper at least also looks less daunting and while no game is easy and every game has to be won you can't help but breathe a sigh of relief that the torrid run has for now passed.

We break off from League action this weekend as we welcome non league Maidstone FC to Portman Road for a Fourth Round FA Cup tie, nearly Five Thousand fans will be accompanying them too so the atmosphere will be superb, I do suspect we will play our second string but without being disrespectful to our opponents that should still be too strong for a non league outfit, the time off for our regulars will also be very welcome too. I can't pretend I know anything of Maidstone but I hope they thoroughly enjoy their day out, although not the result !!! town win and all eyes on the Fifth round draw. COYB'S



Maidstone United A Brief History


Maidstone United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team competes in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system.

Maidstone United was a member of The Football League between 1989 and 1992. That club was forced out of the league following bankruptcy, but the nucleus of a new club was built around the youth squad, Maidstone Invicta, which made the step up to adult football in 1992 after being elected to the Kent County League Fourth Division in 1993 and subsequently progressed through the non-League pyramid.

They changed their name to Maidstone United in 1995. They played in the Isthmian League Premier Division from 2013, having been promoted from the Isthmian League Division One South, and won the league in the 2014–15 season to gain promotion to the National League South (formerly the Conference South) for the 2015–16 season.

Maidstone gained a second successive promotion to the National League in 2016, bringing fifth-tier football back to the town for the first time since the old club was promoted to the Football League in 1989. Maidstone were relegated in 2019, before winning the National League South title in 2022 and promotion back to the National League.

Maidstone were without a stadium of their own from their creation until 2012 when the Gallagher Stadium near Maidstone town centre opened at the start of the 2012–13 season.



The Manager – George Elokobi








Head to Head



First match between the two sides



Match Referee – Anthony Taylor







IPSWICH TOWN 2 MAIDSTONE UNITED 0

[hallamblue]

Good preview thank you….

Expecting a very much changed team , with Morsy getting a run out with Taylor, and Axel getting some more minutes, along with Walton.

I think we’ll be too strong for them even with it being an “ Ipswich 11”, and think it could be 4-1 ( yer, we still concede a goal!)

[marko69]

Excellent preview, opening paragraph bang on the money, and further down; after watching the game on a cousins recording, I too reckon if there were 2 more minutes in that injury time, Ipswich would’ve scored; Leicester looked a tad desperate. Body language at the FT whistle from Leicester was also, “phew, thank god” …… it wasn’t disappointment.

Reckon it’ll be a great day out for The Stones, but they’ll get no satisfaction at Portman Road. (Its ok if you cringed at that. I cringed more)
4-0 Ipswich Town.

Caption:

Ref: “Ok George, come on. Confirm the theories. That big?”
George: “Yeah. Soft.”

[TODD66]

Good preview thank you….

Expecting a very much changed team , with Morsy getting a run out with Taylor, and Axel getting some more minutes, along with Walton.

I think we’ll be too strong for them even with it being an “ Ipswich 11”, and think it could be 4-1 ( yer, we still concede a goal!)

I can only see a big win once the team that is picked get it together.

It will only be right and proper to allow Maidstone one goal to allow their fans a moment to bask in the glory - maybe making the game 1-1 at that point - before we put them to the sword. 4 or 5 - 1 for me as I would like to see a goal fest for the boys.

[Ricco]

It will only be right and proper to allow Maidstone one goal to allow their fans a moment to bask in the glory - maybe making the game 1-1 at that point - before we put them to the sword. 4 or 5 - 1 for me as I would like to see a goal fest for the boys.

We've haven't scored first since Norwich (apart from an OG)! So I think it's a given that Maidstone are allowed one in the first 20.

With a week off either side, I'm sure we'll put out a strong side to get some momentum going. We've been far from our free scoring best for some time now, so what better opportunity to get back in to the rhythm by scoring 5 or 6??

[NWS]

We've only got one striker who's not cup-tied, injured, or sold. If Levi and Rushy were playing then we'd Coast through 3 or 4 nil. Now it'll just have to be a scrape through 1-0

[NWS]

Good preview thank you….

Expecting a very much changed team , with Morsy getting a run out with Taylor, and Axel getting some more minutes, along with Walton.

I think we’ll be too strong for them even with it being an “ Ipswich 11”, and think it could be 4-1 ( yer, we still concede a goal!)

Concede a goal to us? Lol. If you do, you should resign from the championship immediately.

In all honesty, I'd be grateful for one goal for the celebration

[shabba]

My, rotated as much as possible, Line up:

Walton

Axel (Assume JD still out?)
Wolfie
Edmudson
Humpreys (nobody else really available)

Travis (assuming Morsy is coming back, he can do last 30mins)
Taylor

Hutchinson
Harness
Sarimento

Jackson

Hopefully sub out some for younger players if winning well by 60mins.

Can't see where to fit Dom ball in, unless you move him to RB and play Axel as Cb, but Axel is more attacking as an RB than Ball, even though both aren't like Clarke for getting forward.

[Bluemike]

That team is same as mine, should easily be good enough

[Dazzz67]

I personally think Sarmiento will be on the bench, Chaplin will start.

This time I feel pretty confident we will see a comfortable win and a good few goals, looking forward to it.

Enjoy the atmosphere of the F.A Cup all that are going!

COYB!

[Blue Wilf]

I think Aluko will be playing somewhere too tbh...

[hallamblue]

Who put Maidstone to win… Has Christ fuckface Sutton managed to worm his way onto this forum?

[marko69]

Who put Maidstone to win… Has Christ fuckface Sutton managed to worm his way onto this forum?

Sutton thinks he's the Big Boss......., but not THAT big!

NWS will have predicted Maidstone win.

[Charnwood]

Let’s see how good Sports Mole are any good at predicting the starting line up;

……………………,,,…Walton
Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Ball, Humphreys
……………………, Morsy, Taylor
……..Hutchinson, Broadhead, Sarmiento
………………………….. Aluko

If they’re right, so much for my prediction of Kayden Jackson scoring the first goal.

[arana peligrosa]

Someone put the opposition to win maybe because we got a history of losing to lower league opposition in Cup competition. (They) Must have been in attendance at every exit event including Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Stevenage, Kettering, Lincoln City etc etc to expect a loss tomorrow but on the day all things are possible. They got nothing to lose with making the trip here.

Don't know what team we'll put out but suggest Slicker should get his chance in goal over Walton given the nature of opposition, he don't seem to get too much other opportunity. First team members need not feature, we could field McKenna, O'Leary, Ashton, Pert and make up the rest of the numbers with canteen staff and still take a result from it. Not so much disrespect to the opposition, just implying it's little other than a Town victory no matter who we select to go out and do it.

Guess we'll go 4-2-3-1 for it, some things just can't be done, but guess whatever formation they pick, is kind of immaterial towards an end result.

ITFC 4 Maidstone 0

[trimleyblue]

Let’s see how good Sports Mole are any good at predicting the starting line up;

……………………,,,…Walton
Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Ball, Humphreys
……………………, Morsy, Taylor
……..Hutchinson, Broadhead, Sarmiento
………………………….. Aluko

If they’re right, so much for my prediction of Kayden Jackson scoring the first goal.

That's pretty much what I'd have gone for with the exception of Jackson for Aluko

[marko69]

Someone put the opposition to win maybe because we got a history of losing to lower league opposition in Cup competition. (They) Must have been in attendance at every exit event including Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Stevenage, Kettering, Lincoln City etc etc to expect a loss tomorrow but on the day all things are possible. They got nothing to lose with making the trip here.

Don't know what team we'll put out but suggest Slicker should get his chance in goal over Walton given the nature of opposition, he don't seem to get too much other opportunity. First team members need not feature, we could field McKenna, O'Leary, Ashton, Pert and make up the rest of the numbers with canteen staff and still take a result from it. Not so much disrespect to the opposition, just implying it's little other than a Town victory no matter who we select to go out and do it.

Guess we'll go 4-2-3-1 for it, some things just can't be done, but guess whatever formation they pick, is kind of immaterial towards an end result.

ITFC 4 Maidstone 0

Kettering? When did that happen?

[hallamblue]

Who put Maidstone to win… Has Christ fuckface Sutton managed to worm his way onto this forum?

Sutton thinks he's the Big Boss......., but not THAT big!

NWS will have predicted Maidstone win.

lol blooming automated “typos”!!!

[mendipblue]

Team today?

Walton
Ball
Axel
Edmundson
Humphries
Taylor
Travis
Harness
Aluko
Hutchinson
Broadhead
All the big guns on the bench.

[Bluemike]

Walton
Ball
Tuanzebe
Edmundson
Humphreys
Morsy
Taylor
Hutchinson
Aluko
Sarmiento
Broadhead


Pretty strong, Jackson not in squad

[mendipblue]

Team today?

Walton
Ball
Axel
Edmundson
Humphries
Taylor
Travis
Harness
Aluko
Hutchinson
Broadhead
All the big guns on the bench.

I only got Morsy in for Travis and Samiento in for Harness wrong.

[lucy]

We have a new Burns on the Bench. He's chopped his Hair off.

[Bluemike]

Wonder if we've sold Jackson or injury maybe.

[lucy]

Wonder if we've sold Jackson or injury maybe.

Or keeping him safe from Injury because he's our only Striker

[hallamblue]

BBC doing their best to make out Town have disrespected Maidstone by the 10 team changes McK has made !

Mind you I do wonder if we will pay for the 99% team change …. It’s an Ipswich 11 and I doubt it’ll be as fluent as it normally is. Difficult one really isn’t it …

[TODD66]

Should be well ahead already.

Think we need a goal scorer!!

[hallamblue]

I wonder if anyone else in the team other than Hutchinson is going to and have a shot st goal? We should be peppering that goal with shots . It’s clear we have no striker on the pitch …

[TODD66]

4 shots on Target so far.

50% on Target.

Going to get lucky at some point.

[hallamblue]

Hope so

Ridiculous miss by Edmundson

[marko69]

50 pence heid, Edmundson