Title: Bidding Farewell to the Painful Reminder of Ipswich Town's FA Cup Defeat
Ipswich Town, currently undefeated in away games this season, faces a daunting challenge as they travel to Manchester for the Women's FA Cup. Five years ago, they suffered a crushing 10-0 defeat at the Academy Stadium against Manchester City, then FA Cup holders. Back then, three different City players netted hat-tricks, leaving a lasting impression on Ipswich Town.
Reaching the last eight of the Women's FA Cup in 2022, Ipswich Town head coach Joe Sheehan acknowledges the glamour of facing top-tier opponents, but not necessarily the desired matchup. With City second in the Women's Super League and in the midst of a title chase, Sheehan is well aware of the challenge at hand. "They're familiar playing against teams that surrender the ball to them," he admitted. "The gap from some teams at the top end of the Women's Super League to Ipswich Town is significant."
City's dominance on the ball and their ability to score multiple goals against lower-tier opponents means Ipswich Town will need to adjust their game plan. "We just want to try and really compete," Sheehan explained. "We have a massive amount of respect for the level of opposition."
The secret to competing against top-tier opposition is in the preparation. With lessons learned from their previous encounter with City, Ipswich Town hasn't dwelt on the potential outcome but rather focused on being competitive. "Obviously, until we step out and we face this opposition we won't get a real idea to what level we can compete," Sheehan continued. "But we feel like we've done a lot of really good work that can certainly give us some sort of encouragement."
Five years on and the 10-0 defeat still remains etched in Sheehan's memory, but it's served as a source of motivation for his players this week. "That game really did open our eyes to what world-leading talent looks like," he admitted. "We've not really thought about the result, we've not really thought about what the scoreline could or couldn't be, whether or not we're going to have a chance to win the game or not. We've not really thought too much into that and that's being really honest because last time we played them, we probably did get a bit excited and probably did think that we could cause a bit of a problem."
Instead, Ipswich Town is focused on learning from their previous experience and using it to improve their performance against Manchester City this weekend. "This time around, it's just about trying to be competitive and trying to learn from the experience of playing them that can hopefully serve us well for the remainder of our season."
Sheehan acknowledges that facing top-tier opponents in business terms, is similar to battling Manchester City on the field. His team needs to emulate successful companies that compete effectively against industry giants.
Furthermore, the financial gains from reaching the last eight of the FA Cup could significantly boost Ipswich Town's sportsmoney revenues, aiding their future development.
