James Vaughan was even showing Bournemouth a clean pair of heels after the final whistle!
Substituted on 79 minutes – and not surprisingly given a standing ovation by Town fans in a 12,025 crowd – the hat-trick hero raced back onto the pitch to grab the match ball.
It’s a third memento after his April treble for Town at Bristol City and a first milestone moment for Crystal Palace against Portsmouth in 2010.
And that £600,000 is certainly looking money well spent after the 25-year-old former Norwich man took his tally to seven in Town’s first five games (only opening-day hosts Nottingham Forest have kept him out so far).
It’s the best opening to a season in terms of goals scored by one Town player since Allan Gilliver notched seven in the first four matches of 1965-66.
Town finished fourth in the second tier that season, and it would be quite something if they could reach those kind of heights once again.
Nobody should get carried away – and you get the feeling Mark Robins certainly won’t let that happen – but it’s a really encouraging beginning.
In phases, Bournemouth looked a decent side, but they were given a good working over by Town, who made their attacking intentions clear from the off.
It seemed an eternity before the South coast side even touched the ball, and their keeper Ryan Allsop was having his fingers stung inside the opening 90 seconds.
That effort came from Adam Hammill, and it didn’t take long for the lively right wing-back to register his first goal since joining permanently from Wolves, with his 14th-minute opener down to some nifty footwork, a slick one-two with the always busy Jonathan Hogg and a neat flicked finish.
It was the Vaughan show as the frontman registered in the 37th and 42nd minutes to stun Bournemouth, who had enjoyed their best spell of the game just before.
The quick-thinking Hammill set up Vaughan’s headed first with a cute tee-up after Jake Carroll overcooked a cross from the left.
And Martin Paterson’s lovely through ball created the second, with his teammate slipping the ball past Allsop from 12 yards.
A slightly harsh-looking penalty gave Vaughan the chance to crash home his third in the 57th minute.
And the only real complaint of this match was that Marc Pugh was able to head a consolation from a cross by the impressive Ryan Fraser, a Town target before he left Aberdeen to join Bournemouth last January.
That said Town continued to push, and Adam Clayton claimed the goal of the game with a long-range screamer in the 78th minute.
Boss Robins has asked for more names alongside Vaughan’s on the scoresheet during the build-up to his game, and he got his wish.
Hogg and Oliver Norwood also came close, and it would be good to see Paterson get the first Town goal his workrate merits.
It was important that Town built on their win at Millwall, but few would have expected a victory to be so handsome.
Tomorrow’s Capital One Cup visit of Charlton can’t come quickly enough!
