Jill Roord broke the deadlock 20 minutes into the clash with a low driven shot into the bottom left corner.
Laura Coombs then doubled our lead in the second-half with a volley after her initial shot rebounded off the crossbar, before Vivianne Miedema added a third and her first goal since coming back from injury.
The victory represented the perfect start to 2025, with the FA Cup clash being the first fixture of the calendar year and also means City have now reached the FA Cup fifth round for the eighth straight season.
WHAT HAPPENED
City’s first game of the New Year brought a testing assignment against third tier Ipswich Town, who were unbeaten this campaign, in the Adobe FA Women’s Cup.
Ipswich kicked off on a cold Sunday in Manchester and settled into the game well, blocking passing lanes from City’s forward players.
There was a debutant in Gareth Taylor’s team, as Rebecca Knaak stepped into defence after her move from Swedish champions FC Rosengard at the start of the January transfer window.
And she nearly broke the deadlock after a Mary Fowler corner connected with Knaak’s head, but it took an unfortunate deflection onto the crossbar.
However, City’s early pressure paid dividends soon after, when Knaak won the ball and played it to captain, Jill Roord, who drove into the Ipswich half, before she hit a low, driving shot into the bottom left corner.
City then almost doubled our advantage towards the end of the first half when Lily Murphy skilfully played her way into the Ipswich box before firing a shot just over the bar.
Into the second-half, Murphy had another opportunity to extend our lead which was deflected wide, before Grace Prior toe-poked the resulting corner wide of the mark.
Following our opener, Ipswich had defended valiantly and were proving to be tough to break down.
But Laura Coombs provided the second goal, after looping her initial shot onto the crossbar, Ipswich keeper, Natalia Negri, was left exposed and Coombs was able to volley the rebound into the net.
City’s confidence and control continued. Chloe Kelly was unmarked down the right and fired a shot which produced a flying, picturesque save from Negri.
On the hour mark, Taylor brought on the returning Miedema, and she was straight back into the action and the goals.
Kelly played a defence-splitting pass to the Dutch international inside the box who powered a shot across the Ipswich keeper and into the left hand corner to give the hosts the breathing room we merited.
The two-time FA Cup winners didn’t want to finish there, as substitute, Jess Park, carried the ball on the counter attack, before guiding the ball low across the keeper who matched the shot with a low save.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: JILL ROORD
The Netherlands international and this afternoon’s skipper was once again at her brilliant best at the Joie Stadium with a fine all-round display.
It was one capped off with the opening goal of the match and she also influenced the game between both boxes with her drive and leadership.
HOW WE LINED UP
Ayaka Yamashita was protected between the sticks by a back four of Kerstin Casparij, Gracie Prior, Leila Ouahabi and debutant Rebecca Knaak after her switch from Swedish champions, FC Rosengard.
Laura Blindkilde-Brown anchored the midfield behind Jill Roord and Laura Coombs.
Mary Fowler led the line between Chloe Kelly and Lily Murphy who operated on the wings.
CITY XI: Yamashita, Casparij, Prior (61’ Aleixandri), Knaak, Ouahabi, Roord (C), Blindkilde-Brown, Coombs (61’ Park), Murphy (61’ Miedema), Fowler, Kelly
Unused substitutions: Keating, Fujino, Haswgawa
IPSWICH XI: Negri, Boswell (C), Hughes (87’ Addison), Garrad (87’ King), Mitchell, Thomas (71’ Watson), Robertson, O’Brien (62’ Rutherford), Peskett (87’ Fisher), Wearing, Barker
Unused substitutions: Hartley, Bryant
WHAT IT MEANS
Our victory against Ipswich means we have secured passage into the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The draw for the next stage will take place on Monday 13 January at approximately 18:30 (UK), with the draw taking place live on Adobe Women’s FA Cup’s official Youtube channel.
WHAT’S NEXT
City resume our Barclays Women’s Super League campaign in our next assignment as we welcome city rivals Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 19 January, kick-off 18.45pm (UK).
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The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football and comprehensive coverage will be provided on the Man City App.
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