Town’s FA Cup run ended at the third round stage for the sixth successive year as the 10-man Blues were beaten 2-1 by League Two Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Former Blue Gary Roberts netted a penalty in the 32nd minute, then Marc McNulty added a second five minutes later to give Pompey a comfortable 2-0 half-time lead, then after the break Ainsley Maitland-Niles pulled one back before Piotr Malarczyk was sent off for two bookable offences.
Former Blue Gary Roberts netted a penalty in the 32nd minute and Marc McNulty added a second five minutes later to give Portsmouth a comfortable 2-0 lead over Town in their third round replay at Fratton Park at half-time.
Town boss Mick McCarthy believes League Two Portsmouth’s players will go into tonight’s FA Cup third round replay at Fratton Park expecting to beat the Blues having performed so well in the first game at Portman Road, which ended 2-2. McCarthy is set to field a young side and, as he did at Manchester United in the Capital One Cup earlier in the season, could even switch his entire XI.
Bali Mumba’s deflected injury-time goal grabbed a point for leaders Plymouth Argyle as the Blues and Pilgrims drew 1-1 at Portman Road, the on-loan Norwich man s strike levelling Wes Burns’s brilliant opener for Town. Both teams had hit the woodwork, the Blues through Marcus Harness and Argyle via Ryan Hardie, before Burns lashed a strike into the roof of the net from the right of the area from a Luke Woolfenden lay-off and Town looked on their way to three points until Mumba found the top corner to claim a share of the points in front of 29,069 fans, the highest crowd since the Gamechanger takeover.