Not even in his wildest dreams did Yusuf Akhamrich think his full Bristol Rovers debut would go as well as it did.
The winger, making his first start since joining the Gas on loan from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, made the most of his full selection in the starting XI with two phenomenal goals against Newport County.
Akhamrich’s sensational strikes put Steve Evans’ side on course for a first home league win in nine games, with Fabrizio Cavegn topping off a terrific showing with a late third in a superb 3-0 victory.
“I’m buzzing. I’m so excited,” the 20-year-old told BRTV. “I’m just trying to take it all in. It feels crazy right now and my emotions are so high, but I’m just buzzing. I’m so happy with my full debut.”
Both goals were worthy of note, too. It was a brilliant introduction to the new No10 for the home faithful, with Akhamrich blasting in from distance to open the scoring, before pulling down Alfie Kilgour’s excellent long-ball to slot in his – and Rovers’ - second.
“From what I can remember, I took a touch inside and I thought ‘just hit it as hard as you can’, and thankfully I hit it and it went in”, He reflected.
“I had a shot blocked just before that. I love cutting inside, shooting and working the goalkeeper. If I can’t shoot then I’ll try to cross but obviously, on this occasion, it opened up nicely for me to shoot so I just hit it.
“The second goal, it was a brilliant pass from Alfie. I was waiting for that pass because the space was there and as it came over, I just took it in my stride and got the ball in my path. I hit it when I got close to the goal and I was buzzing.”
Akhamrich’s efforts were rightly praised by Gasheads across The Memorial Stadium when he was subbed off late in the second half. Having his name sung by thousands of home supporters is a sensation the Moroccan winger will need to get used to.
“I just try and take every game as it comes,” he continued. “I just want to do what I do best. I don’t want to think about it too much. I just try to do what I do on the training pitch and bring it into the game.
“Scoring and playing today was genuinely amazing. The fans, they were top. Hopefully I can score many more goals here in front of them and get them excited.
“I heard them singing my name towards the end. It was unreal, honestly. Hopefully as more games come and the season moves on, I’ll hear it even more.”
With two goals already to his name as a Bristol Rovers player, Akhramrich is hoping to add even more in the coming week as the Gas welcome both Walsall and Chesterfield to The Memorial Stadium.
He added: “The boys were good today. They were top. We worked well together and hopefully we can continue doing that in even more games. The clean-sheet was really important too. It was just as important as the goals. The back-line and the goalkeeper were top and we need more of that.
“The next game is the most important game. We try and take it as it comes. We want to keep working hard on the training pitches and then take that into the games to come. We go again on Tuesday.”
