Barnsley v Watford - Conor Chaplin hopes goal against QPR is the first of many under new manager

Conor Chaplin is a “streaky” striker who hopes history can repeat itself in the coming weeks.
PURPLE PATCH: Conor Chaplin hopes his opening goal of the season against QPR will be the first of many. Pictures: Bruce Rollinson.PURPLE PATCH: Conor Chaplin hopes his opening goal of the season against QPR will be the first of many. Pictures: Bruce Rollinson.
PURPLE PATCH: Conor Chaplin hopes his opening goal of the season against QPR will be the first of many. Pictures: Bruce Rollinson.

In November 2019 Chaplin scored only his second goal for Barnsley in the debut game for a coach brought in after impressing in Austrian football. It was the first of nine in 12 matches for him.

On Tuesday, the 23-year-old finally broke his duck for the season in the debut game for a coach brought in after impressing in Austrian football. Chaplin hopes his contribution to the 3-0 win will be the start of another hot streak in front of goal.

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A match at Watford is a tough first away assignment for new coach Valerien Ismael, but under predecessor Gerhard Struber this young Reds team showed that once they get on a roll they need have nothing to fear in the Championship – especially now their forward line is belatedly firing.

Summer signing Dominic Frieser, who played under Ismael at previous club LASK, scored his maiden goal for the Reds at Stoke City a week-and-a-half ago, and Cauley Woodrow’s first three Championship goals of the season have come in his last four matches, all from the penalty spot. Set up by Woodrow and Frieser in Tuesday’s victory over Queens Park Rangers, Chaplin is now up and running too.

“Any striker would say the first first goal of the season is the most important one,” he reflects. “It’s probably taken me longer than I would have liked but it happens like that at times. I’ve had spells in my career where I’ve had purple patches, that’s the way it’s gone for me in my career.

“I don’t know any reason for it, I wish I did, but they’re usually in patches so fingers crossed that’s the case this time.

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“When Gerhard came in last season it turned my fortunes so I’m looking to have the same impact under this gaffer as well.”

WINNING START: Valerien Ismael guided Barnsley to a 3-0 win over QPR on Tuesday night. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.WINNING START: Valerien Ismael guided Barnsley to a 3-0 win over QPR on Tuesday night. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.
WINNING START: Valerien Ismael guided Barnsley to a 3-0 win over QPR on Tuesday night. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

Chaplin felt liberated by his first experience of Ismael’s new system, subtly but importantly different from Struber’s.

Whereas the Austrian liked to play 3-5-2, his successor favours a 3-4-3, with Chaplin and Frieser told not to get chalk on their boots but to stay close to Woodrow. The triumvirate interchanged frequently during what was the club’s best goalscoring performance of the season, yet should have been even better.

If there was a lesson to be learnt from a painful start to the season where Barnsley must have expected to kick on from their latest great escape from relegation, but instead found themselves winless when the clocks went back, it is that goalscoring cannot be left to the frontmen as they did against QPR.

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“It’s important your strikers are scoring but other people have got to chip in with goals as well because strikers are going to have patches where they don’t score for a few games,” warns Chaplin.

“Cauley’s had one, I’ve had one and Friesey’s had one.”

If QPR were in a sorry state as soon as defender Rob Dickie was sent off on Tuesday, Watford ought to be made of sterner stuff.

Rather than feel sorry for themselves after relegation from the Premier League, they are only a point off an automatic promotion place eight matches into life back in the second tier.

The early indications, though, are that Frenchamn Ismael – once an imposing Bayern Munich centre-back – will demand his team is not shy in the way they play. Ismael has swept into Oakwell like a force of nature, giving the club an energy it lacked towards the end of Struber’s tenure when the coach came across as understandably disenchanted by a lack of boardroom support in the transfer market and distracted by the interest from New York Red Bulls he was ultimately unable to resist.

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Throughout his first week Ismael has constantly spoken about being on the front foot and he will not be afraid to cause a rumpus in the Hornet’s nest this afternoon.

“He’s only been here for a week, but I get a positive energy from him,” centre-back Mads Anderson says. “As a coach, you feel his power and energy in the game and in the changing room.”

It spills out in his utternaces to the media too.

“The win on Tuesday was very important and we are now four games in a row without a defeat (having drawn the previous three), so it’s good for the confidence and gives us a belief in our game,” commented Ismael, who had a short spell playing for Crystal Palace in 1998.

“We have big opponents in front of us but we are ready to take the fight and take the chance in this game.

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“We know that we can give a lot of problems for Watford and, for the young guys, it’s a big chance to show what they can do.”

Determined to play the high-tempo football that was such a success with LASK until he was sacked for training sessions which broke coronavirus distancing protocols, Barnsley’s players can expect Ismael to work them hard physically in the coming weeks, but he also wants them to be strong between the ears.

“It’s a big challenge, he said. “Watford is one of the best teams in the Championship with very high quality, with Premier League players in the squad. We need the mentality, we need our intensity to work for each other as a team. 

“We know, if we work together, we can beat everyone in this league. Anyone can beat anyone and that’s why we believe in our capabilities, our strength and what we can do on the field.”

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Ismael showed an eagerness for experimentation on his first night, bringing off left wing-back Clark Oduor at half-time against QPR to successfully try central midfielder Callum Styles out there. It would be no surprise if he changed a winning formula at Vicarage Road to continue learning more about the players at his disposal.

Chaplin, though, will just be looking for more of the same.

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