Ipswich Town vice-captain Conor Chaplin felt the punishment they suffered at the hands of Newcastle United in a 4-0 home defeat was ‘the hardest it’s been so far’ following promotion to the Premier League.
But the 27-year-old says rather than brush it off they must take their medicine from the defeat and learn from what went wrong ahead of going into their festive matches, starting at Arsenal on Friday night (8.15pm, Amazone Prime).
Reflecting on a game which saw Alexander Isak follow in the footsteps of the last opposition player to score a hat-trick against Town at Portman Road, Kevin Nolan, also in a 4-0 victory for Newcastle United in September 2009, he said: “Yes, a tough day, I think one that we’ve got to take on the chin and accept that we were second best on the day.
Conor Chaplin felt his team-mates and himself need to take ownership of what went wrong in the 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United Picture: Barry Goodwin
“We’ve had tough days before and come through it and taken the learnings which is what we need to do again.
“We’re not naive to think that we’re going to have a season in the Premier League and not have tough days. As a newly-promoted team we know that that’s going to be something that’s going to come up in the season.
“I don’t think we’ve had many. That’s probably the hardest it’s been so far, in terms of games and matches.
Conor Chaplin celebrates scoring his first and to date only Premier League goal in the 2-1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth in the Blues’ previous home game Picture: Barry Goodwin
“But yes, that’s something that we need to rectify and look to improve going into the next one.”
Asked if he thought it was down to Eddie Howe’s side, who had played all but one of the same side just three days earlier in the Carabao Cup, playing exceptionally well or them having a bad day, or a bit of both, he replied: “I think, yes, potentially a little bit of both. I think decision-making at times and our game management wasn't good enough.
“There was probably maybe a 15 to 20-minute spell when it felt like the game was getting away from us.
“I don't think 2-0 at half-time would have been a bad scoreline for us going in, because I felt like we were actually a threat going forward. I feel like we had a few chances and moments where we felt like we could hurt them.
“So, 2-0 at half-time is not a disaster in terms of getting back into the game. The third goal is obviously a very poor goal to concede. We need to do better in moments.
“But, yes, even the second goal we can look at as well when there's individual moments and actions that we need to own, own as individuals and own as a team and do better.”
“But I don't feel like we weren't a threat.
“I think they probably played through us maybe a similar amount of times we played through them. But decision-making at certain times wasn't where it needed to be.”
The Blues’ top scorer, Liam Delap, was absent from the side as he served a one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, with Kieran McKenna opting to push Sammie Szmodics into the central striker role after being ruled out of the 2-1 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers last week with a bout of illness.
And Chaplin agreed the former Manchester City youngster’s physical presence in particular was missed.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “I think the way he's been playing and the physicality and the attributes that he has in a game like that, especially where their press is so strong, it's probably a full-court press and one of the most aggressive presses we've played against. Obviously, you can look at that and it's an area where it probably would have helped. But we didn't have him today so it was something that we needed to deal with on the pitch and in the prep and felt like we were prepped to do so.
“But on the pitch, we didn't do our part and we've got to own that.”
Quizzed on how their manager had reacted to what unfolded, both at half-time and full-time, Chaplin said: “Same as always. Yes, disappointed.
“I think we're disappointed and angry as well. It's one that we know if we are ever 95 per cent of our capacity it's never going to be enough in this league. We need to be 100 per cent capacity every single
day, especially on game day. I think if we come off 1 per cent, 2 per cent, 3 per cent, 4 per cent, it's not going to be enough. So it's a good reality check in that. And maybe it's needed.
“Maybe this game will help us a little bit down the road. Maybe this game will help us for the next tough away game. You need to take the learnings from it, definitely.
“But yes, it's one we're quite clearly disappointed and angry about.
“We also know we're going to have tough days at times this season.
“Like I said before, we know we're going to have tough days at times and we've just got to take the learning and take it on the chin and accept that today we were second best.”
The defeat meant that 18th-placed Town continue to be the only side in the Premier League still without a home victory having now played nine times at Portman Road, drawing four and losing five.
Chaplin accepts that it needs to change but equally feels people need to look at the context of how those games have panned out to see it is coming.
“Yes, obviously we feel like we've been good at home,” he said.
“We feel like we have been competitive in every single game and today wasn't that, I think that's clear for everyone.
“But yes, we know our form at home is going to be important and we need to start picking up more points here, definitely.”
Iraq international Ali Al-Hamadi came on at half-time and helped to give the Suffolk side’s attack a new dimension with Omari Huntchinson the man to be sacrificed.
Chaplin, who recently broke his Premier League goal duck in the 2-1 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth, said of the man who scored his only goal of the campaign so far against former club AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup: “I was really happy for him. I thought he'd done really well. He'd done what he's good at.
“He hustled and bustled. I thought he took good responsibility at times as well.
“He's such a young lad and someone that's obviously new to the level, like all of us, but new to the level in terms of being League Two not so long ago as well.
“So, yes, I thought he'd done himself proud today and I was happy for him.”