The FA Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers by Coventry City last weekend was an unexpected setback for Ipswich Town, who are currently battling it out at the top of the Championship.
As the Sky Blues let two late goals at Molineux ruin their 1-0 advantage, very few would have been thinking about Ipswich’s scheduled April trip to the CBS Arena as they regained control of the game in the closing minutes to win 3-2.
But Ellis Simms and Haji Wright’s two thrilling late goals might make an already difficult run-in for the Tractor Boys even more difficult.
The impact on Ipswich
Against all odds, Coventry defeated Wolves in the Premier League to get to the FA Cup semi-finals. They will now play Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
The exact date and kickoff dates of the semifinal match have not yet been announced by the organisers. It is scheduled to take place on the weekend of Saturday, April 20.
What is known, though, is that the teams that are still in the cup will not be able to play their league games that weekend; therefore, the Saturday’s scheduled games will need to be rescheduled.
Since Coventry was scheduled to host Ipswich on that Saturday, a new time for the game will probably need to be arranged during the week.
Excluding the Coventry game, Ipswich already have five games to play in April, against some tough opposition, and the rearranged fixture must be played before the final day of the Championship season.
The last games in the second tier will be held on Saturday 4 May, recently confirmed by the EFL and, to make matters worse for Ipswich, it will be an early kick-off for all teams.
| Ipswich’s final run-in | ||
|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Venue | Date |
| Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | Friday 29 March |
| Southampton | Portman Road | Monday 1 April |
| Norwich City | Carrow Road | Saturday 6 April |
| Watford | Portman Road | Wednesday 10 April |
| Middlesbrough | Portman Road | Saturday 13 April |
| Coventry City | The CBS Arena | TBC |
| Hull City | The MKM Stadium | Saturday 27 April |
| Huddersfield Town | Portman Road | Saturday 4 May |
This implies that Ipswich’s formerly packed but mostly evenly distributed calendar will most likely now have a midweek match in April, and it will now occur either a few days before or after another significant league match.
It will also interfere with training plans and travel schedules that were probably already set at this time, giving the Tractor Boys an additional obstacle to overcome at a crucial portion of the season, even though it will allow them a free weekend to prepare and reorganise midway through the final run-in.
Although there isn’t much that could be done to help, Ipswich supporters will be hoping that the success of their fellow Championship rival won’t stand in the way of what would be a historic promotion for the team.
There’s a good likelihood that Ipswich will be promoted to the Premier League.
It is an incredible accomplishment for Kieran McKenna to get his team within striking distance of a Premier League spot, especially considering that they were only in League One the previous season.
With eight victories in their last ten games, including their crushing 6-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, the team looks to be peaking just in time.
| Championship Table (As it stands March 20th) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leeds United | 38 | 42 | 82 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 37 | 41 | 82 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 38 | 31 | 81 |
| 4 | Southampton | 36 | 26 | 73 |
| 5 | West Brom | 38 | 23 | 66 |
| 6 | Norwich City | 38 | 15 | 61 |
| 7 | Hull City | 37 | 7 | 58 |
| 8 | Coventry City | 37 | 16 | 57 |
This performance coincides with Leicester City, the defending league leaders, who are starting to fade towards the end of the season after winning only one of their past five league games.
The Midlands team has the advantage in the game, but the Tractor Boys are only one point behind the Foxes. Based on the standings, it looks like this match will go all the way to the wire, and Ipswich is looking forward to it.
The team appears to be in a good position to find a solution and take the necessary steps to secure a historic promotion, even though the rescheduled match against Coventry may come as a surprise amid what is expected to be heavy preparation at Portman Road.
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