Ipswich Town manager Paul Cook insisted 'it's all about getting through' after his side won 2-1 at Oldham Athletic in an FA Cup first round replay tonight.

Idris El Mizouni netted with a superb 30-yard strike 10 minutes from time to set up a second round home clash with Barrow on December 4.

It was a quality moment towards the end of a largely unconvincing display in which Conor Chaplin was gifted an equaliser after the Latics, struggling in League Two, had deservedly taken the lead through Harrison McGahey.

“It’s all about getting through," said Cook. "There’s always upsets in football. The biggest thing for us is being in the next round.

"I thought for spells in the first half we looked like a disjointed team put together.

“We must credit Oldham. I thought they played with outstanding spirit over the both legs. You’d never think there was the gulf of 25/30 places in the pyramid. They were looking anything but a team that’s in the league position that they are.

“You always feel with us though that we’ve got quality on the pitch. We knew we’d get moments.

“We got in the last third quite a lot second half and our quality wasn’t the best, but if you keep knocking on the door eventually you will come in."

He continued: “With that last corner coming in I bet you were all nervous, weren’t you?! A really rainy night up north, why not wait until midnight before we’re all on our way home? It’s us!

“Our supporters travelled up in great numbers (496) and they’ll travel home delighted we’re in the next round."

He added: “I thought the character of the lads was great to come from a goal behind on a difficult night.

“We’re now in the second round, we’ve got Barrow at home and we’ve got good league games (Sunderland away on Saturday and Rotherham at home next Tuesday) coming up. It’s exciting times."
On making seven changes to the team which drew 0-0 with Oxford United on Saturday, Cook said: “I think I was quite fortunate. Picking my strongest team in the first leg at home allowed me to make changes tonight because I think our supporters were comfortable with that.

“We picked a team to win. We felt the team was balanced and strong. We tinkered with the formation, which clearly didn’t work early on. That’s not the players’ fault, that’s down to me.

“I felt when we fixed that little tweak in the middle of the pitch we got Scott Fraser on the ball a lot more and what a quality player he is. Then our lads shone a little bit better.

“After the first 20 minutes, half an hour, when I felt we weren’t great, I felt we grew into the game really well."

On El Mizouni's winner, the Blues boss added: “He’s just a good lad. He’s got a lot of plaudits this year and rightly so. He probably gets a little bit frustrated at his lack of game time – and that’s what I want.

“You see his reaction tonight. I trust him. He’s a young lad with an appetite for the game and he’s going to have a good future if he keeps doing the right things."