admin‘You do wonder’ – Conor Chaplin verdict delivered as Ipswich Town loanee makes biggest impression yet in Portsmouth shirt
Pompey came from a goal down to secure a 2-1 home win against fellow Championship strugglers Blackburn Rovers on Saturday
Conor Chaplin has just produced his best performance in a Pompey shirt follow his return to Fratton Park on loan from Ipswich Town.
That’s the verdict of The News’ Neil Allen, who believes the Blues youth-team product had been putting too much pressure on himself to perform for the Fratton Park outfit before Saturday’s much-needed win against Blackburn Rovers.
With fears of a potential return to League One heightened by a first-half strike from Yuki Ohashi that put the visitors ahead at the break, Pompey needed to produce a much-improved second-half display to overcome the mountain they faced – and that duly arrived as the half-time messages relayed by head coach John Mousinho clearly made an impact on his players.
An equaliser arrived just after the hour mark, when Callum Lang made the most of some neat approach play from Josh Murphy by converting at the far post.
The killer blow was then delivered with just over 10 minutes remaining, when Conor Chaplin’s corner-kick delivery was headed home by Ibane Bowat for his first goal for the Blues.
The milestone header, which helped Pompey climb out of the Championship’s relegation zone, was also significant for the Tractor Boys loanee, who hadn’t registered a goal or an assist in the 15 games he’d played up until the visit of Rovers.
The pressure had been growing on the 28-year-old, who had also found himself in and out of John Mousinho’s side in recent weeks, despite being a regular in the Premier League last season.
But 48 hours on from Chaplin breaking his assist duck for the season, The News’ chief sports writer, Allen, believes green shoots of prgoress are starting to appear.
Allen: ‘It’s so frustrating because you know the talent is there’
When asked on the latest episode of Pompey Talk if Saturday’s display was Chaplin’s best since returning to the club, Allnesaid: ‘I’d agree, I totally agree.
‘I thought there were a lot of really good performances. But he (Chaplin) just wanted the ball, he was buzzing around, he was dropping deep, picking it up, he was making things happen. He was in his favourite position and it suits him. I think it worked really, really well.
‘It’s so frustrating because you know the talent is there.
‘There’s a lot obsession from fans about players getting the club and things like that. He gets the club, he’s Pompey through and through, he loves it, he wanted to come back to Pompey. So that ticks that box.
‘He’s fully committed. You do wonder whether he was putting too much pressure on himself early on after he’s come back.
‘We are all willing him to get that goal, he needs that goal but he got his first assist with the corner that won the game.’
Chaplin is currently on a season-long loan at Pompey from Championship rivals Ipswich. However, the Tractor Boys have an early recall option, which they can activate during the January transfer window.
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