An inspired double substitution by Joe Royle helped Ipswich secure victory
thanks to an impressive second-half display.
Royle brought on Jim Magilton and Shefki Kuqi and both players had a hand in
the first two Ipswich goals.
Magilton's free-kick laid on the first for Richard Naylor and an astute pass
from Kuqi enabled Tommy Miller to add a second before the Finnish international scored Ipswich's
third in the dying minutes.
Struggling Derby had surprised their hosts by shading the opening 45 minutes
of an entertaining Cup clash but were unable to make any of their chances
count.
Ipswich, flying high in Division One, found themselves on the back foot in the
opening couple of minutes as the visitors won two free-kicks in quick
succession.
Derby are in the bottom three of the Division One table, but they looked
comfortable during the early stages.
However, Ipswich looked dangerous when they pressed forward with Ian Taylor
having to clear a dangerous corner from Martijn Reuser and Chris Bart-Williams
sending a 25-yard volley wide of the target.
But it was Derby who almost snatched the lead when Marcus Tudgay's shot from
20 yards was tipped around the post by Kelvin Davis after five minutes.
In an action-packed opening, play continued to switch from end to end with
Ipswich's Darren Bent steering his effort wide from a promising position and
Jermaine Wright then testing Lee Grant in the Derby goal from distance.
Davis was again called into action when Luciano Zavagno let fly from 20 yards,
but he was equal to it, saving well after 12 minutes.
Derby missed another good chance midway through the first half when Lee Morris
sent his left-foot shot wide of the target from close range.
Davis again kept his team on level terms after 25 minutes, tipping a
well-struck shot from Morris around the post as Derby continued to look
dangerous.
The home side brought on Kuqi in place of Darren Bent six minutes into the
second half in an effort to get an edge and they got the breakthrough just three
minutes later.
Fellow substitute Magilton's free-kick found Naylor whose firm header flew
past Grant.
The goal gave Ipswich just the impetus they needed with Grant having to be on
his toes to keep out a well-struck shot from Counago.
And they wrapped up victory after 69 minutes when Kuqi pulled the ball back to
Miller who side-footed the ball past Grant from 10 yards to net his fifth goal
of the season.
Derby almost cut the deficit 14 minutes from time, but their bad luck was
summed up as Manuel Manel's header hit the woodwork.
Ipswich added a third when Grant spilled a free-kick from Reuser and Kuqi
forced the ball home.
Teams
Ipswich Davis, Wilnis, Naylor, McGreal, Richards, Wright,
Miller, Bart-Williams (Magilton 53), Reuser, Bent (Kuqi 51),
Counago (Bowditch 75).
Subs Not Used: Abbey, Santos.
Booked: Wilnis.
Goals: Naylor 54, Miller 69, Kuqi 89.
Derby Grant, Mills, Johnson (Holmes 66), Mawene, Zavagno,
Morris, Taylor, Bolder, Huddlestone, Tudgay, Manel.
Subs Not Used: Labarthe Tome, McLeod, Boertien, Camp.
Booked: Huddlestone.
Att: 16,159
Ref: P Crossley (Kent).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook