Bracknell Town 0-3 Ipswich Town: League One promotion-chasers reach round two of FA Cup

Ipswich Town shrugged off a determined challenge from non-league Bracknell to set up a home second-round tie with Buxton in the FA Cup.

The Southern League Premier Division South side had a strong wind behind them in the opening half, but goalkeeper Michael Eacott had to make three good saves to keep them on level terms at the interval.

Their resistance was broken when Kane Vincent-Young’s cut-back was turned into his own net by Dan Bayliss and the wing-back provided a second assist as Freddie Ladapo doubled the lead from close range.

Vincent-Young had a goal disallowed for offside but the League One visitors added the clincher as Wes Burns squared for fellow substitute Panutche Camara to score with his first touch.

• Relive Monday’s FA Cup action as it happened
• Full second-round draw

In the first round for only the second time in their history, Bracknell had top scorer Jordan Esprit back in their line-up, while Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna retained only four of his starters from the 4-4 draw with Charlton in their most recent league game.

The home side showed plenty of early intent, pressing high up the pitch and harrying Town into errors – although Jack Dean was perhaps fortunate to escape with only a yellow card after a reckless challenge on Kayden Jackson.

The two keepers were virtual spectators for the first half hour before Ipswich finally asserted themselves, and Eacott had to push away Ladapo’s shoulder-high sidefooted effort.

Ipswich’s best moments came down the left and when Kyle Edwards cut one back into the box, Eacott made an instinctive save with his feet to deny Vincent-Young.

It looked like Ipswich – playing a non-league team in the first round for the first time since 1956 – were certain to break the deadlock after the break when the ball was threaded through to Vincent-Young, but Bayliss produced a magnificent last-ditch tackle to snuff out the opportunity.

With rain pouring down, Bracknell finally produced their first shot on target in the 57th minute but Town keeper Vaclav Hladky was solidly behind Gary Abisogun’s low 20-yard effort and Eacott had to be alert at the other end to block a shot from Ladapo.

Bayliss hooked wide as Ipswich struggled to clear a ball into their box, but just moments later the defender scored at the wrong end as he slid in to try and clear.

The goals by Ladapo and Camara – the latter in only his second Town appearance – were simple finishes against tiring opponents but Bracknell at least had the consolation of improving on their 4-0 first-round defeat by Lincoln in 2000-01.

For the Tractor Boys, meanwhile, it was just a third FA Cup victory in their past 24 ties.

Bracknell co-manager Jamie McClurg told BBC Radio Berkshire:

“They were exceptional, every single one of them, I don’t think they deserved a 3-0 loss.

“Ipswich controlled possession but the boys were resilient, we had a couple of half-chances and on another day maybe we’d have nicked something and it would have been a fairytale story.

“Since the [first-round] draw, with all the distractions that can easily happen, they’ve won every game and been brilliant in training and we’re going to get stronger and stronger.

“The fans were amazing. You could feel the energy in the stadium. I just hope they keep coming back.”

Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk:

“It was a nice occasion, especially for Bracknell, it’s their night, and I thought they did a great job with the infrastructure and how they facilitated the game, it’s not easy to have 2,000 and the TV cameras here.

“And the pitch as well, there was a lot of heavy rainfall and they did a good job getting it as good as it could be, and they should be proud with how they conducted themselves on and off the pitch.

“For us, it’s a nice one to come through. All the responsibility is on you to go and win the game and nothing else is acceptable – and rightly so.

“It’s hard to really enjoy it until you get the first goal and then after that we were able to enjoy it a little bit more.”