As well as Clarke: 8/10 Ipswich star just proved he deserves more minutes

Ipswich Town put all their Premier League agony to one side in the FA Cup this weekend with a straightforward 4-1 victory away at Coventry City.

Kieran McKenna would make 11 wholesale changes for this clash against Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues, with a worry in the air thereafter that the performance could be disjointed and uninspiring, but the final result ended up being a walk in the park for the jubilant visitors regardless of all the alterations made.

Off the back of such a convincing win, McKenna could be tempted to stick by some of the reserve personnel that clinched this emphatic victory, with Jack Clarke one Ipswich face that was definitely banging the door down for more first-team opportunities after his electric showing at the CBS Arena.

Jack Clarke’s performance in numbers

Only limited to five Premier League starts so far this season, the ex-Sunderland attacker could be about to be gifted more chances from the get-go after shining bright against Coventry.

Indeed, the on-the-fringes number 47 helped himself to an unbelievable return of two goals and one assist from his memorable 90 minutes on the pitch, leaving the leaky Sky Blues defence constantly shellshocked as to how they should attempt to thwart the 24-year-old marauding forward.

It was a very lively showing from the forgotten-about forward who also won four ground duels and successfully registered three interceptions to reinforce his presence as a tenacious battler for the team.

With Nathan Broadhead the only other recognised left winger in McKenna’s camp – away from the versatile Jaden Philogene who can cause havoc down both channels – the Ipswich boss could be prepared to give the exciting attacker more chances moving forward back in the top flight.

Clarke won’t be the only player to have given McKenna plenty to ponder about when it comes to upcoming team selections, however.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

George Hirst’s performance in numbers

George Hirst is another presence often left on the periphery but he certainly stood out against the Sky Blues.

He does does have the tricky mission of attempting to get into the first team as Ipswich’s main striker whilst Liam Delap is still on fire, with the ex-Manchester City centre-forward up to nine goals now in Premier League action.

But, away from Delap, the options aren’t exactly endless in this area of the pitch, meaning Hirst could perhaps be utilised up top more as an impact presence off the bench after terrorising Coventry all afternoon.

Hirst’s performance in numbers
Stat	Hirst
Minutes played	90
Goals scored	1
Assists	1
Touches	26
Accurate passes	10/15 (67%)
Key passes	2
Stats by Sofascore

After all, the former Leicester City man would set the tone for the day when converting a penalty after barely two minutes had been played, alongside also gifting the Suffolk side a slim 2-1 lead after combining well with the aforementioned Clarke.

Only needing a meagre 26 touches of the ball to leave his lasting mark on proceedings, this bodes well for McKenna if he does end up using the 25-year-old in Premier League contests to follow, with Hirst acting as a figure that could come on late into tight games to try and open up a tiring defence.

Hirst would have been overjoyed with his display come full-time after an injury-disrupted campaign up to this point, with East Anglian Daily Times journalist Alex Jones no doubt adding to the revitalised striker’s joy by gifting him a high 8/10 rating post-match.

McKenna will know his troops are up against it now in their battle to beat the drop, having recently lost to basement side Southampton, but he will hope his full squad can stick together to try and pull off the unthinkable.

If this FA Cup away day is anything to go by, he could do far worse than to give both Clarke and Hirst more minutes in their difficult bid to try and stave off relegation.