Coventry explain why they had to delay FA Cup clash with problem for thousands of fans

Over 10,000 fans are expected to have missed a goal after a FA Cup clash was delayed by ten minutes.

Six games were due to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, but only five went ahead according to plan.

Thousands of Coventry fans were stuck trying to get in by the time the game began
2
Thousands of Coventry fans were stuck trying to get in by the time the game beganCredit: Getty

Unfortunately for Coventry City, managed by Frank Lampard, their tie against Premier League strugglers Ipswich Town was pushed back.

Coventry announced the news on social media and explained the reason behind the delay.

"Due to crowd congestion outside the CBS Arena, KO has been delayed until 3:10pm," a Coventry post on X read.

"We would like to thank the supporters who are already inside the ground for their cooperation."

Read more football news

Prior to the match, Coventry claimed they expected a crowd of 29,000, a figure just shy of the 32,609-limit at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

However, the Coventry Telegraph claimed approximately 13,000 fans were still waiting to get in as the clock ticked closer to 3pm.

As a result, it meant many would have missed a frantic start to the game once it got underway at 3:10pm.

Ipswich were awarded a penalty after just 30 seconds when Luis Binks tripped up Sammie Szmodics inside the box.

George Hirst stepped up for the visitors and coolly slotted home from the spot to send the travelling supporters wild.

But Ipswich's lead lasted just six minutes as Lampard's side equalised through Joel Latibeaudiere.

Match Stats

The 25-year-old flicked a header past Ipswich debutant Alex Palmer off of Jack Rudoni's corner to restore parity.

Ipswich would take the lead for a second time through Jack Clarke, with the 24-year-old cutting in from the left and curling a sensational effort into the bottom corner.

Clarke bagged his second after Coventry turned the ball over dangerously close to their goal and was played in by Nathan Broadhead.

Jaden Philogene, who joined Ipswich from Aston Villa in January for £20million, added a fourth for the visitors.

He squeezed home from a tight angle after Clarke had squared the ball across the face of goal.

Unfortunately for Lampard, the result meant he lost consecutive games for the first time since he took over at Coventry.

Thousands missed out on seeing George Hirst's opener for Ipswich against Coventry
2
Thousands missed out on seeing George Hirst's opener for Ipswich against CoventryCredit: Getty

After a 2-1 defeat against Norwich on January 4, the Sky Blues won five games on the bounce in all competitions but the run was brought to an end via a 2-0 loss to Leeds on February 5.

The result against the Tractor Boys also equalled Lampard's heaviest defeat during his Coventry tenure having lost 4-1 to Portsmouth on December 21.