Ipswich Town: Wes Burns & Sam Morsy react to what Conor Chaplin did v Middlesbrough | OneFootball

Wes Burns and Sam Morsy have responded to Conor Chaplin scoring for Portsmouth against Middlesbrough to strengthen Ipswich Town's grip on promotion...

Portsmouth re-signed Conor Chaplin from Ipswich Town in the summer, and his goal against Middlesbrough looks like doing his parent club a favour in the race for automatic promotion.

During Ipswich Town's promotion from the Championship under Kieran McKenna in 2023/24, Conor Chaplin registered 13 goals and nine assists in 47 games. However, after falling out of favour in the last year, he signed for Portsmouth instead.

Portsmouth is the club Chaplin started out at after joining as a six-year-old in 2003. He eventually joined Coventry City in 2018 but scored 25 and assisted seven in 122 games in his first stint at Fratton Park.

The loan has not gone as he nor John Mousinho would have hoped for thus far, with just two goals and three assists in 34 games this season. However, the fortunate goal from Adrian Segecic's long-range strike has huge repercussions at both the top and bottom of the Championship table.

Wes Burns reacts to Conor Chaplin message to Ipswich Town

With Ipswich beating Norwich City in the East Anglian derby at Carrow Road, their grip on second tightened. The goal from Chaplin made things even more secure, having snatched a point away from Middlesbrough.

The table sees Ipswich in second, but with games in hand on those around them. They are in a commanding position to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, having seen Millwall draw with West Bromwich Albion and Boro lose to Pompey.

Ipswich still have Middlesbrough and Southampton to play, but McKenna and co. hitting their stride at the right time and going nine games unbeaten, which includes six wins in that time.

Chaplin took to Instagram

Ali Al-Hamadi, on loan at Luton Town, added: "CHAP❤️"

Azor Matusiwa responded: "🤩🤩"

Promotion will be bittersweet for Ipswich Town this season

Just two years on from their Premier League promotion in 2024, Ipswich look almost unrecognisable under McKenna, with Chaplin just one example of that. What was once a tightly-knit and upwardly mobile group has evolved rapidly. In part, it has been shaped by the demands of top-flight survival.

Only a small core remains from that promotion-winning side, with Leif Davis, George Hirst, Jack Taylor, Christian Walton, and Burns the sole survivors in a dramatically refreshed dressing room. That turnover highlights just how quickly football moves, particularly when clubs are forced to bridge the gap between divisions so quickly.

There is a bittersweet edge to that transformation after two promotions in a row in 2023 and 2024. Many of those players were not only part of the 2024 success, but also key figures in the 2023 promotion from League One. That includes Chaplin, who scored 29 goals in League One's success.

The fact he has had a say in promotion inadvertently is quite fitting, but also bittersweet. His departure and the reduced presence of a heroic double-promotion squad feels like the end of an era at Ipswich. Progress has demanded change, but it has inevitably come at the cost of sentiment at Portman Road.