Goal hero revels in brace against Barnet
Conor Chaplin certainly made the most of his first league start of the season.
The teenager – who has already netted twice in the Capital One Cup this term – bagged a brace to help beat Barnet at Fratton Park.
His first goal cancelled out Andy Yiadom’s opener and then, after Adam McGurk had put Pompey ahead, he wrapped up the victory deep into stoppage-time.
And Chaplin was delighted to play such a pivotal role in another positive result for the Blues.
The forward said: “It was a bit of a whirlwind. Barnet went ahead and that seemed to kick us into life a bit – we started to take more control.
“Thankfully, I got the goal that set us on our way and we finished the job in the second half.
“There were a lot of bodies in the way, but I just tried to hit it across the goal and it went in.
“It’s not always easy to play against a side when they’re down to 10 men and we knew they would always be a threat.
“Barnet played to their strengths, but we managed to get through the second half and probably should have scored more.
“There wasn’t much time left when I got my second, but I just gambled on the ball and was delighted to see it go in.”
Chaplin was pleased to be given a place in the side, although he knows there is no guarantee that he will keep it.
He said: “I knew the opportunity would come and I just had to stay patient and be ready to take it.
“We’ve got a tough game at Oxford next week and the gaffer will name a team that he thinks can go there and win.”