Grant Ward admitted he couldn’t have asked for much more from his Town debut, having netted with his first touch just 39 seconds after coming on as a half-time sub, before going on to claim a 39-minute hat-trick as the Blues opened their season with a 4-2 home victory over Barnsley at Portman Road.
"It was a great debut, I couldn’t have asked for much more. I think the first goal was with my first touch,” said the 21-year-old, signed from Spurs for an initial £500,000 on Monday. "It’s nice to get one goal, so to get three is a dream come true.”
Ward’s treble is the first scored by a Blues substitute and the first by a debutant since Colin Viljoen’s in the March 1967 4-2 victory over Portsmouth. Keith Bertschin previously scored with his first touch for the club in a 2-1 win at Arsenal in April 1976.
"Someone told me that downstairs,” the Lewisham-born midfielder added. "I’ll have to write these down.”
Reflecting on his goals, he continued: "They were good strikes. [Mick McCarthy] told me and Conor straight away that we were coming on, so we had a quick warm-up and we were ready to go.
"The first just fell to me, I just gambled. I gave David McGoldrick a little shout, I thought he might take it - you know strikers, they’re greedy - but he left it, to be fair to him.
"I was debating whether to hit [the second] first time because it was in the air. But then I took a touch and I thought I was going to get closed down but then I’ve had a look and I’ve got a bit of time so I just hit it.”
Regarding his third, a low strike after a corner had been cleared to the edge of the area, he added: "We’re told just to hit it hard and low and it worked.”
Has the former Doncaster, Coventry and Chicago Fire loanee scored many previous senior hat-tricks? After pausing a few moments to count on his fingers, he said: "Erm… just that one! Hat-tricks at any level? Training, that’s about it.”
He says his previous lack of hat-trick experience impacted on his goal celebrations, which is he admits need work: "It’s probably something I need to do. I normally do a knee slide because I normally only get one, but I can’t do three knee slides.”
After the game boss McCarthy said he had to drag Ward away from signing autographs and giving selfies at the front of the East of England Co-op Stand.
"There were a few fans, I haven’t seen them and they were all congratulating me, so I wanted to speak to as many as I could,” the new signing explained.
How did his team-mates welcome him into the dressing room? "I got a little clap as I walked in. I can’t complain. I’m just trying to fit in. All the lads are great, to be honest. They’ve all been good so far.”
He added: "I only came on Monday so I haven’t had long but I seemed to fit in straight away.”
Ward says his family were well represented at Portman Road: "A lot of my family were here, my Mum, my girlfriend, my Dad, his girlfriend, so there were quite a few.
"I saw my Mum because she always goes to the front, it doesn’t matter what ticket you give her, at the top, in a box, somehow she’ll be at the front. I don’t know if she swaps them or what. I saw her at the front, but only her so far. I’m sure they will be absolutely delighted.”
Later, Ward and his Mum, Jan, were spotted in Isaacs on the Quay where he continued posing for selfies and signing autographs.
Speaking to the press after the game Ward was making sure the match ball was close at hand: "I’m keeping hold of it because everyone’s saying, ‘We might have to keep that one’, so I’m going to put it in my car.”
How many goals would he have scored had he played the whole game? Laughing, he added: "I don’t know, I’m not sure about that one!”
Ward, who missed three weeks of pre-season training with Spurs through injury, could make his first Town start in Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie against Stevenage at Portman Road.
But despite his 39-minute hat-trick, he warns fans that betting on him adding to his goals might not be the best investment.
"I don’t know about that,” he continued. "Whenever that seems to happen I don’t score. When I first went to Rotherham in pre-season I scored about six, every game I scored, and everyone was saying, ‘I’ve put a tenner on you' and I didn’t score and they lost their money!”
Elsewhere, Barnsley skipper Conor Hourihane, who was with Town during 2010/11 without making a senior appearance, said the visitors were disappointed to ship so many goals. "Conceding four goals is not what we are about so that’s disappointing. I can’t remember the last time we conceded four.
"On the positive side we held out own for a long time. We played well, but those four goals are the negative.
"We had the better of the first half in all areas of the park but they have that Championship experience. "It was important for us to react to their goal as quickly as we did. We bounced back well and played well but those four goals are something we have to work on.”
Despite the defeat, the Irishman was pleased to score one and create one for his team: "To get a goal and an assist and have an impact of the game is good for me going forward.
"I have never played in the Championship before so his gives me confidence going forward, knowing I can play at this level.
"We have to work hard on little details. This is going to be a tough year for us but we have to battle every game.
"Ipswich are an experienced side. They were better organised than us and we have to work on that but we will and we will bounce back on Tuesday against Northampton.
"I was looking forward to coming back. I was 19 when I came here but too young to make the step up then.
"I learnt a bit here and I have taken those lessons forward. It was good to come back and put in a decent performance. Mick showed a bit of appreciation to me, which was nice.
"It is going to be a tough season but we have earned the right to be here. We need to put our mark on things and enjoy the challenge.”
Meanwhile, Town’s digital media editor Jonathan Ogle explained the blue and then green codes issued to stewards over the PA during Saturday’s game.
@itfc_101 there was a suspect package outside the stadium that turned out to be nothing, but had to investigate first.– Jonathon Ogle (@JWOgle) August 7, 2016