Conor Chaplin marked his return to Portsmouth in style as he scored one and made another in a dominant 3-0 victory over relegation rivals West Bromwich Albion. The forward, back at his boyhood club for a second spell, broke the deadlock before January arrivals Millenic Alli and Ebou Adams completed a win that lifted Pompey above the Baggies in the league table.
The result deepened a worrying run for Eric Ramsay's side, who have now won just once in nine matches and have not triumphed away from home since the start of October. Portsmouth, buoyed by a late equaliser against bitter rivals Southampton the previous weekend, produced a superb first-half display that effectively settled the contest, before an early second-half strike from Adams killed off any hope of a West Brom comeback.
Boyhood Forward's Relentless Start Finally Brings Breakthrough
Chaplin played like a man determined to make up for lost time. Having joined Portsmouth as a six-year-old and recently returned on loan from Ipswich, he began peppering Max O'Leary's goal almost from the first whistle. Within two minutes he had his first sight, stabbing a Terry Devlin cross wide when he might have done better, a sign of the intent that would define his afternoon.