Kane Vincent-Young has joined the chorus of praise for colleague Bersant Celina and what proved to be the winning goal in Sunday’s hard-earned 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Crewe Alexandra.
Town took full advantage at the end of September when Doncaster Rovers, then anchored to the foot of the table, came to Portman Road and were sent home smarting from a comprehensive 6-0 thrashing.
But fans expecting a similar outcome after Crewe defender Luke Offord’s third minute own goal at the weekend were ultimately disappointed, the Blues forced to hang on towards the end as the plucky visitors carved out a series of opportunities and threatened to level.
On the other hand, the game provided one of the best goals seen at the stadium in a very long time as Celina, on a season-long loan from French club Dijon, controlled George Edmundson’s long-distance ball from the back with the deftest of touches and then seamlessly clipped it high over goalkeeper Dave Richards and just under the bar from just outside the box.
Vincent-Young enjoyed his view from the dug-out and said: "It was unbelievable but you know Bersant. He’s been here before and you know what kind of player he is, plus the ability he has.
"Knowing him, he definitely meant it and you can only say it was a moment of sheer genius good enough to win any game.
"We see him in training and technically he’s wonderful, plus he’s also got the self-belief and the imagination.
"Once you marry those three together you can produce moments like that. It didn’t come as that big a surprise to us because we know what he is capable of doing.”
Vincent-Young is a likely starter this evening when Town take on Arsenal’s U21 side in the Papa John’s Trophy at Portman Road and he recalled how it was a strange experience lining up against former side Colchester in the final group game that saw both teams qualify for the knockout phase.
Asked how it felt to face the U’s, the right-back added: "What I found most strange was playing against the likes of Chambo [Luke Chambers]. He’s obviously a legend here and to see him in another shirt was really weird. Searsy [Freddie Sears] as well.
"But I always enjoy locking heads with former team-mates and the game was a really enjoyable occasion. After their result at Swindon on Tuesday it would be nice to bump into Colchester again further down the line. Why not? I just hope it’s at Portman Road if we do.”
The former Tottenham youngster’s main target, of course, is to earn a recall to manager Paul Cook’s starting line-up for League One games as Town chase a top-six place, which is looking less realistic with each round of fixtures thanks to the side’s inconsistency.
Vincent-Young, 25, has only started six of Town’s 20 league games this season, the most recent being the 4-1 win at high-flying Wycombe Wanderers that made many fans confident that it could be the start of an impressive run of results.
Unfortunately, Town went on to take just one point from their next three league games — all against sides higher in the table — and after the defeat of Crewe at the weekend it left them seven points adrift of the play-offs.
Vincent-Young said: "I guess the first thing I have to say is that I’m fit and available, which wasn’t so much the case last year, so it’s been good to be in and around the first team this season.
"But it has been a bit of a mixed bag. It started well enough but I’ve had my highs and lows, and I’m just searching for consistency, working hard in training every day to try to find it.
"Thankfully, my fitness has been okay, although there have been one or two occasions when I’ve taken a little knock.
"For example, when we played Colchester I fell on my shoulder and it was a bit sore, which was why I had to come off, but other than that I’ve been all good. Like I said, I’ve been really pleased with my fitness levels this year.
"The Wycombe game was the big highlight for me this season. It was a brilliant occasion and a game we were really looking to win, especially after our previous result, losing at Plymouth just a few days earlier.
"We went there and matched them for their physicality and then our football shone through and we dominated the game. It was a really pleasing occasion.”