Sam Morsy claimed that the instant he made contact with the ball, he knew it was going in.
With a small chuckle and a wide smile on his face, it’s difficult to tell whether that was genuinely the case. In the end, none of that matters. It was his first Premier League goal, and it won Ipswich Town a valuable point away to Southampton.
“I’m really delighted and happy with it,” he stated following the game. “The final minute of the game is sweeter, and it’s a good point on the road.
“It’s clearly a fantastic personal achievement, and I’m really pleased with it.
“It’s something that probably won’t sink in until I reflect at the end of my career.”
Morsy is not a natural goal-scoring midfielder. When he does manage to score, he usually does so in style. This goal, the equaliser in a 1-1 tie, was reminiscent to his strike against Rotherham United last season.
A corner was cleared out of Southampton’s box and landed at his feet. He took a touch before unleashing his full force on the shot, which bounced off defender Charlie Taylor and flew past Aaron Ramsdale.
“It was about getting the first touch right and hitting it as sweet as I could,” he says. “Fortunately for me, it fit in.
“I just waited, and it came out. I knew that if I got my touch right, I could simply whack it.”
It’s an incredible achievement for the skipper, who has now scored in all four categories of English football. He has had success in League One, the Championship, and the Premier League while wearing the Ipswich shirt.
After asked if his phone will be vibrating with messages, he responded, “Only when I score or if it’s a big win!” Aside than that, there are no SMS on my phone. There will be approximately 100 tonight!
“Obviously people have supported me throughout my career, which I’m grateful for.”
Aside from being his first at the level, this was another late goal for Town, which was a key component of their second-tier victory last season. Morsy is overjoyed to find that they have remained in the top division.
“It was the difference maker last season, we won so many points from losing positions or drawing positions,” he told me. “It will be important again.
“It wasn’t by chance; it was because we kept pushing forward, and we did. We were the only squad who would score late on.”
In terms of the game as a whole, Morsy acknowledges that his team can improve in certain areas, but he believes they were more likely to win all three points at St. Mary’s.
“I thought it was another great game,” he told me. “A lot of opportunities. I think we were the better squad and deserved at least one point, if not more.
“We have a lot of room for improvement; we’re not even close to where we want to be. We are aware of this, and there are other issues to address.
“One thing that has stayed with us is our resilience, team spirit, and determination to persevere till the end.
“It takes time.” It takes time for new players to adjust, integrate, and become familiar with the pace and style of play. It will need a significant amount of time on the training ground, which we have, which is good.
“We’ll just keep chipping away.”
As a result, Ipswich are now unbeaten in three Premier League games, including two challenging away meetings. It will require a significant effort to extend that streak against Aston Villa next Sunday, but Morsy is confident that there will be more in the coming weeks and months.
“We’ve had two away games, two points, unbeaten,” he told me. “We have a home game to look forward to, so we’ll take each game as it comes.”
“The team we are currently is unlikely to be the same in November. We need to keep racking up points, developing, and working.”
