Nathan Tella scored in the first minute and very nearly the last as Burnley advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 replay victory over Ipswich.
Tella needed only 46 seconds to put Burnley in front but after Ipswich hit back through George Hirst two minutes later it was turning into a frustrating night for the Championship leaders.
That was until the third minute of stoppage time, when Tella controlled a long ball into the box and sent a powerful finish beyond Vaclav Hladky.
It sets up a last-16 home tie against League One Fleetwood, offering Burnley a clear opportunity to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2003, even if the seven changes to Vincent Kompany’s starting XI showed that priorities understandably lie elsewhere.
The goalless draw at Portman Road 10 days ago was the only time the Clarets, who have won nine in a row in the league, have failed to score since their Carabao Cup defeat away to Manchester United before Christmas, and they fixed that problem inside the opening minute of the replay.
A quick break down the left saw Ian Maatsen feed Lyle Foster in the box and although the ball would not sit for the South African to mark his full debut with a goal, he rolled it across for Tella to apply the finish.
Ipswich did not waste any time in hitting back. Kieran McKenna’s side had won only one of their last five coming into the night but still sit third in League One and the confidence was on show as they cut Burnley open.
Sone Aluko thought he had underhit a pass through the heart of Burnley’s defence but Kayden Jackson raced in front of Maatsen to square the ball for Hirst – the on-loan Leicester forward who spent the first half of the season at Blackburn – to bundle home an equaliser.
Half-chances came for both sides, with Tella’s ball just missing the outstretched boot of Sam Bastien, but Burnley’s wastefulness on the ball was best summed up nine minutes before the break when, with the path to goal wide open in front of them, Bastien played a ball behind the run of Foster.
Burnley made a bright start to the second half with Tella’s cross-cum-shot testing Hladky. The hosts were getting the ball into more threatening positions, but were still not fluid, delaying passes until they ran into trouble or simply picking the wrong option.
Ipswich were limited to playing on the break but still carried a significant threat. As Burnley appealed in vain for a free-kick in the 64th minute, Greg Leigh’s low ball found Jackson and Bailey Peacock-Farrell had to dive sharply to his right to repel a low shot.
Kompany turned to his bench in search of a spark. Darko Churlinov provided one from the left with his direct running, while it was another substitute, Josh Brownhill, who almost engineered an Ipswich own goal as Luke Woolfenden turned a low cross inches wide of his own goal with Foster on his shoulder.
Frustration in the stands grew when Tella went over in the box at the end of a neat move involving Maatsen, with referee Scott Oldham unmoved.
Two more late subs linked up in the first of seven minutes added on as Johann Berg Gudmundsson picked out Ashley Barnes but the latter’s shot was deflected wide, with Maatsen’s effort blocked from the resulting corner. Gudmundsson then tried himself but Hladky got down to palm away a low shot.
But as extra time loomed, Tella’s 11th goal of the season settled it.
