Ipswich 1-3 Fulham: Harry Wilson, Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney strike as Premier League side ease past Kieran McKenna's second string to reach last eight of Carabao Cup

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Fulham can be forgiven for feeling as though a fourth-round trip to Portman Road was like walking into the eye of a storm on a night when Storm Ciaran threatened to batter parts of the nation.

There was no sign of any howling wind or torrential rain in East Anglia. Yet the visitors deserve credit, nonetheless, for weathering the hurricane that is Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich, especially on their turf.

To put it simply, Ipswich do not lose on home soil. It’s nearly time to haul the Christmas decorations from the loft and still the Tractor Boys have only lost once at Portman Road in 2023.

In that time, 18 sides have left with their tails between their legs. Some swept aside, others blown away. But Fulham proved the perfect storm chasers and proved too strong for the hosts to withstand.

The early warning signs were there when the Premier League side went ahead inside the opening ten minutes. Few inside Portman Road will have seen their side carved open in the manner they were for Harry Wilson’s opener for a long time.

Harry Wilson put Fulham ahead from close range in the ninth minute against Ipswich

Wilson latched on to Bobby de Cordova-Reid's pass and took it around keeper Christian Walton

The hosts never threatened to set up a nervy finish, with Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney putting the game out of sight early in the second half for Fulham.

'We know that they are having an amazing season and they have been so consistent in a competition we know it is not easy to do what they have been doing,' said Fulham boss Marco Silva.

'From the first minute we were the dominant team on the pitch, like we wanted to be. Job done and well done to the players. They showed on the pitch a will and desire to come and win the game.'

Substitute Elkan Baggott helped to soften the blow of this defeat with a late consolation but Ipswich will hope this defeat proves to be inconsequential in their promotion push.

The fact they can even be in the conversation for a return to the Premier League just a few months after being promoted from the third tier of English football is remarkable in itself.

But this was a little taste of what they could win should they return to the top flight after more than two decades in the wilderness.

Credit to Silva’s side, who treated this clash with the utmost professionalism. With McKenna opting to make 11 changes, Fulham’s slick football was too much for the hosts’s second-string side to handle.

Too many passes went astray, too many second balls dropped to men in white shirts. In the Championship, you can get away with such slip-ups. Not against Premier League opposition, though, and within ten minutes, the hosts duly found themselves behind.

Forward Rodrigo Muniz refused to be muscled off the ball his marker and knocked the ball in-field to Bobby De Cordova-Reid, taking three Ipswich defenders out in the process.

De Cordova-Reid had two options. A ball through to Andreas Pereira, who was racing from a central position towards goal, was tempting. But even more tantalising was the acres of space that Wilson found himself in over the far side.

With Ipswich keeper Christian Walton charging out of his box in a futile attempt at closing down the angle, Wilson chopped past the stranded gloveman and passed the ball into an empty net.

Ipswich’s persistence to maintain the high press which has served them so well under McKenna was to be admired, yet the ease at which Fulham cut through made it look naive at times. The hosts were fortunate to see Fode Ballo-Toure’s cross deflect onto the bar just minutes after falling behind.

Silva’s side were given an almighty scare when goalkeeper Marek Rodak’s dozy pass was intercepted but he was on guard to tip Kayden Jackson’s effort around the post. In response, Pereira hammered an effort from 30 yards just wide for the away side.

Fulham doubled their advantage when Wilson's low cross was finished by Rodrigo Muniz

Midfielder Tom Cairney put the game out of sight early in the second half for Fulham

McKenna’s side have come to earn the moniker of comeback kings after pulling off heroic in the previous round against Wolves and in the league against Plymouth on Saturday.

But within five minutes of the second half, that looked unlikely even for them as Pereira’s perfect ball across the box left Muniz with the simplest of tap-ins at the far post.

Fulham captain Cairney put the result of the tie beyond doubt after firing past Walton from inside the box, before substitute Baggott's consolation from a corner for the hosts.

‘It was a tough game but I think it’s a night we’ll be much stronger for,’ said Town boss McKenna. ‘It was always going to be a massive challenge, irrespective of how the game went or the team we picked. We’ve had good performances in the competition but this isn’t our time to be in a position to go and chase this trophy.’