The two teams were both competitive in the first half, but the Reds took the lead four minutes into the second half as Chris Wood dispatched a penalty following a foul from Sammie Szmodics on Jota Silva.
In the end, Town huffed and puffed but couldn't find a way through, falling to their sixth defeat of the campaign.
“It probably wasn’t a great game, it was a really tight game," Chaplin said after the match. "A game with not too much ball-in-play time.
“There were a lot of nitty gritty fouls, but a tight game, a game that neither team deserved to win or showed enough quality to win.
“It’s really disappointing to come out on the wrong side of it when it’s so tight.”
Ipswich did have chances before the break, with Cameron Burgess' header from a corner cleared off the line by Ola Aina. Soon after that, Chaplin looked destined to connect with a ball on the edge of the box, but striker Liam Delap didn't see him and intercepted it ahead of him, giving away the ball.
When it was suggested that nobody will blame Delap for the error, Chaplin joked: “I will!
The 27-year-old made his fourth start of the season at the City GroundThe 27-year-old made his fourth start of the season at the City Ground (Image: Ross Halls)
“It’s a goal, but Liam didn’t do that on purpose. He didn’t see or hear me.
“It’s one of those things. It’s a goal, I back myself there nine times out of 10 to finish.
“He’s not the type of selfish lad to do that intentionally. He just hasn’t heard or seen me.
“After that, we didn’t create as much as we would’ve liked. We put the squeeze on late with a lot of possession and territory but I didn’t think we ever created anything to deserve scoring.
“There were times in the first half where we looked dangerous and we went through the pitch quickly with a lot of set pieces and moments that definitely could’ve resulted in a goal.
“On reflection, neither team did enough to score and it came down to a tackle and a penalty, which is a big shame.”
The overall mood is pretty low after a result and performance like that, and Chaplin certainly isn't hiding it.
“I’m disappointed, in hindsight, with how the game went," he admitted. "I thought it was a really tight game.
Chaplin is adamant that the Blues are improving every weekChaplin is adamant that the Blues are improving every week (Image: Ross Halls)
“It’s a lot easier to accept losing when you’re by far the inferior team, but we weren’t today. I don’t think there was an inferiority or anything like that today because the game was so tight.
“It wasn’t a game of real quality, so it’s a lot harder to take when you lose a game like that.”
However, there are positives. Manager Kieran McKenna likened the clash to the one against West Ham, which Town lost 4-1 last month. Compared to that, the performance was much better, and Chaplin can see that his side are improving week on week.
“I think everyone that knows football and is following us can see that we’re getting better and better," he argued. "It’s obvious to see.
“We need to still continue to do that. We need to take steps each and every day to keep working towards getting better, but we are.
“We work so hard on it every single day, so I’m confident in us, definitely.”