After dominating the opening exchanges, the Blues fell behind in the 17th minute as Joel Ladegbaye swept home following an Ipswich counter-attack.

We reacted positively, pushing for the leveller and probing the Ipswich back line on various occasions. Unfortunately, we couldn't apply a finishing touch before the break and went into the half-time interval a goal behind.

The Blues continued to push in the second period, and our efforts paid off in the 66th minute as Dako found the net. That broke Ipswich's resistance and Hall netted soon after to put us ahead.

We held that advantage until the closing stages – and then extended it as Ipswich attempted to salvage a point. Dako completed his double before Grimwade netted an excellent free-kick in stoppage time to seal a 4-1 victory.

An early setback

The Blues controlled the opening 15 minutes, although we were unable to consistently threaten the visitors' goal. Jashayde Greenwood did force a save from Ipswich goalkeeper Edward Twyman and Dako fired over the crossbar.

After 17 minutes, we were punished on the counter, with Callum Stewart playing the final pass across the face of goal to enable Ladegbaye to sweep home and make it 1-0.

We had a chance to level almost immediately, as Twyman raced out to clear his lines and missed the ball. Grimwade chased and lunged towards the ball, aiming to poke it into an empty net, but Pedro Felicio was there first to spare the goalkeeper’s blushes.

Pushing to level

We continued to search for an equaliser throughout the rest of the half. Ibrahim Rabbaj came close as he drifted inside and received the ball, but his left-footed attempt went just wide of the far post.

We remained a persistent threat down the right, and Isaac McGillvary played a give-and-go with Rabbaj before cutting a pass to Greenwood. The Blues striker’s first-time shot was just off target.

Towards the end of the half, Isaac Badu fashioned a great opportunity to level. The Portuguese youth international wriggled through midfield and played the ball to Greenwood, who lined up the shot before opting to tee up Rabbaj instead. But his shot was blocked and remained a goal down at the break.

Persistence pays off

After the interval, it was more of the same, with the Blues holding onto the ball for long spells. Dako had two good chances in quick succession but was unable to convert either.

Substitute Gabriel Sambou created the first, as he crossed into the penalty area for Dako, but he didn’t get enough on his header to steer it goalwards. Moments later, Greenwood drove towards goal and shimmied inside before laying the ball off to the midfielder, whose shot was dragged just wide.

He was eventually rewarded with a goal, though. Captain Dante Waite played the ball behind the Tractor Boys’ defence, and Dako was able to tuck his finish into the net for his fifth league goal of the campaign.

A second arrives

The Blues were a lot more like ourselves after Dako’s goal and, after Sambou had came agonisingly with a shot cleared off the line by Felicio. we scored our second just four minutes later.

Hall gave us the advantage as he quickest when Twyman spilled a Dako free kick to place the ball into the corner.

Having taken the lead, the Blues were oozing with confidence in the latter stages, and we began getting far more shots on target.

Sealing victory

Ipswich showed more attacking intent once they had fallen behind, but our defence handled the onslaught superbly. Dako then completed his brace to make it 3-1 with a neat finish into the bottom corner.

The visitors' best chance fell to Kyle Messenger, who seemed set to halve the deficit. Toby Bell’s initial save was very impressive but the ball fell into Messenger’s path; fortunately, Hall made a fantastic recovery run and block.

Grimwade got in on the action with the final kick of the game, scoring from a set piece once again. The 16-year-old wrapped the free-kick into the top left corner to end the game in style.

What it means

This victory means we remain top of the table on 21 points, having won seven matches and scoring 37 goals. The Blues also extended our perfect run to five games.

What comes next?

Chelsea Under-18s are back on the road next week when we face West Ham United on Saturday 31 October. The game gets underway at 11am BST and supporters can watch the match live with a CFC+ subscription.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Toby Bell; Dante Waite (C), Jacob Hall, Calvin Diakite, Yisa Alao (Gabriel Sambou 45); Isaac Badu, Jacob Dako, Isaac McGillvary (Andrew Pennie 62’); Ibrahim Rabbaj, Jashayde Greenwood, Heze Grimwade
Unused subs: Emmanuel Ayinde, Isago Silva, Jayden Malundama, Bilal Shah-Berkouz, Kwamina Ampah
Scorers: Jacob Dako 66’, Jacob Hall 70’
Booked: Dante Waite 39’, Gabriel Sambou 53’, Ibrahim Rabbaj 78’

Manager: Dan Hogan

Ipswich Town (4-3-3): Edward Twyman; Riley-Joe Barry, Praise Adebayo, Pedro Felicio, Harvey Duggins (Preston Peal 59’); Isaac Boakye-King (C), James Brentnall, Callum Stewart (Reuben Carr 58’); Indiana Pedder (Yacine Serrar 81’), Joel Ladegbaye (Kyle Messenger 78’), Chris Atherton
Unused subs: Kellyan Olawole, Harvey Ness, Ruben Wreford
Scorers: Joel Ladegbaye 17’
Booked: James Brentnall 67’

Manager: Mark Robinson