Teenager hoping for more success with Blues
It might have been an underwhelming season for most at Pompey.
But for Conor Chaplin, the 2015/16 campaign is one he will most definitely never forget.
The 18-year-old academy graduate made his senior debut from the bench in December and scored his first goal at Morecambe in April, before being named the League Two Apprentice of the Year at the Football League Awards.
And he then capped off a memorable few months with a first start on the final day against York.
“I’m extremely proud,” said Chaplin. “If you asked me to predict what would happen at the start of the season then I wouldn’t have guessed any of the things I’ve achieved.
“This is the club that I’ve grown up playing for, so I was delighted to make my first start.
“Next it will be my first pre-season with the first team and another new experience for me – hopefully I can impress.
“I don’t want to stop here – I want to keep going and try to nail down a starting spot on a regular basis.”
Pompey were unable to end the season with a win, as Matt Tubbs’ opener was cancelled out by Brad Halliday.
Chaplin – who had already seen one effort cleared off the line – was then denied by a last-gasp Stephane Zubar block in stoppage-time.
“I dreamt the night before that I would score the winner,” said the striker. “It almost happened before the big defender came out of nowhere.
“It was one of those days when you’re wondering whether the ball was going to go in the back of the net.
“I had two great chances myself, Jed had a couple and we also hit the woodwork a few times.
“But after Tubbsy scored that unbelievable goal you would have expected us to go on and get the three points.
“We should have seen the game out, but credit to York because they kept going and got back into it.
“It’s disappointing because we wanted to give the fans something to shout about on the final day, although I thought we played well.”