Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was happy with his side’s professional display in their FA Cup third-round win against Bristol Rovers.

The Blues took a comfortable 3-0 lead into the break and could have scored more in the second half. On top of that, the Gas were kept at arm’s length, helping Town ease into the next stage of the competition.

“I think it was a really good performance, individually and collectively,” McKenna said afterwards.

“The first half was a really good game and I thought we played well. Scored good goals, could’ve scored more and gave very little away. We managed the game very well in the second half.

“We’re through to the next round, so it’s a good day for us.”

Phillips opened the scoring with a low shot from outside of the area before Jack Clarke doubled the lead a few minutes later. Both players had failed to score in an Ipswich shirt until this game and McKenna hopes that it will give them confidence going forward.

“It was a lovely finish for Kalvin to start with,” he explained. “It’s always nice for any forward player to get their first goal of the season, so it’s nice for Jack.

I thought they played well.”

Jack Taylor’s goal, which wrapped up the game before the interval, was certainly controversial.

Jack Taylor wrapped up the win after Kalvin Phillips and Jack Clarke found the back of the net (Image: Steve Waller)

The midfielder picked up the ball in a clear offside position, running through and firing into the back of the net to make it 3-0.

“It’s nice to not have a three minute check with VAR,” McKenna chuckled.

“I haven’t seen it back, so if it went our way, of course we’ll be happy about that.

“Jack took it well, and I thought he played well in the higher-up right no.10 role for us. He linked really well with Wes in the first half and played well throughout.”

Ali Al-Hamadi was left more frustrated, however. The striker had few chances to work with throughout his time on the pitch, missing a penalty early in the second half.

Although McKenna didn’t expect him to miss the spot-kick, he was still impressed by the Iraq international, who was replaced by George Hirst late on.

“I thought he did a lot of good work, to be fair. His work off the ball was outstanding, some of his back-to-goal play, his link-up was really, really good.

“That’s the life of a striker. He’s a good penalty taker, so it’s unlike him to not catch one cleanly, but I thought he played really well and helped the team.”

January recruit Ben Godfrey was given his first minutes for Ipswich, having signed for the club on loan from Atalanta shortly after the 2-2 draw at Fulham last weekend.

Ben Godfrey made his debut in the 3-0 win (Image: Steve Waller)

Starting in the hybrid right-sided role in the back line, he was largely untested defensively. However, McKenna still got to see some of his strengths, arguing that he’ll continue to improve with more minutes.

“I thought he did well,” the Town boss argued. “Of course, he didn’t have too much defending to do, but won some good challenges and showed some good recovery pace with the tackle in the second half.

“He had some good bursts forward with the ball and more runs without the ball into the penalty box in the first half.

“I’m sure he’ll get better and better the longer he spends with us, but it was a good start.”

Above all, Ipswich looked cohesive and slick. They weren’t disjointed, which can happen when wholesale changes are made.

McKenna believes that this is a sign that the club are heading in the right direction, especially with a core group of players who were with the club in League One and others who signed recently.

“I think that’s a really good sign for the group,” he admitted. “We’ve had that over the last few years at different occasions in cup competitions where we’ve been able to change the whole team.

“It hasn’t always worked out, but very often, we produce really cohesive performances still, and have players that are ready to come into the team – be match-ready and fully understand their roles.

“When you can make the changes like we made today and look as cohesive as we did in the first half, I think that’s a big, big positive for the group. Especially when you consider that, yes, quite a few of that group have been here for a few years, but quite a few of them have been here for just a few months and have started to settle in.

“In those circumstances, to look as cohesive as we did both on and off the ball, I think that’s a good sign for the direction that the group is travelling in.”

Ipswich will travel to Championship side Coventry City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.