Ipswich Town 3-0 Bristol Rovers: Kalvin Phillips scores first goal in over a YEAR with fine finish as Tractor Boys advance to FA Cup fourth round

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Kalvin Phillips scored his first goal for Ipswich as the Premier League hosts made short work of their limited League One opponents.

Town, handed a trip to Coventry in the fourth round, had the tie wrapped up by half-time after Jack Clarke and Jack Taylor also scored.

Phillips, on loan from Manchester City, has so far failed to nail down a starting place in Ipswich’s relegation battle, with captain Sam Morsy and Napoli loanee Jens Cajuste the preferred central midfield pairing.

Injury and a red card against Leicester in November have limited opportunities for Phillips, who was England’s player of the year in 2021.

But Town manager Kieran McKenna, who made 10 changes from last week’s 2-2 draw at Fulham, seemed satisfied with the 28-year-old’s contribution.

‘I think he has had a really solid first half of the season, to be honest,’ he said. ‘There is always going to be a different perception about Kalvin because he has come from Manchester City, but he is a normal person.

Kalvin Phillips scored his first goal since December 2023 in a 3-0 rout of Bristol Rovers

Jack Clarke and Jack Taylor (picture) were also on the scoresheet for Ipswich at Portman Road

‘He came in without having had a pre-season with us and played a lot of games at the start, maybe eight or nine in a row, so compared to the Premier League starts he’s had in the previous two years it is quite a lot.

‘He got sent off and had an injury so he missed a few weeks and for a couple of weeks after that wasn’t ready to start. He played well at Arsenal, had a couple of good performances off the bench and has now played well in the cup.

‘He is improving, growing in confidence, growing in fitness and growing in his understanding of his role in the team. He is progressing well.’

Phillips opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a well-placed 20-yarder after Clarke teed him up. Clarke, the £15million August signing from Sunderland, stuck out a leg to score his first Town goal six minutes later after Ali Al-Hamadi’s shot had been deflected into his path.

Taylor slotted home a 37th-minute third goal, despite being clearly offside — VAR is not in operation until the fifth round.

And Rovers were also relieved when Al-Hamadi shanked a second-half penalty wide after former Ipswich man Grant Ward handled.

‘I don’t want to speak about the referee because it was not because of him that we lost,’ said Rovers manager Inigo Calderon.

‘But every single day something seems to be happening against us. Even the penalty, for me, was not a penalty.

‘They were much better than us, I don’t think they needed any help.’