Sam Bell has had to be patient to get off the mark for Bristol City but his flurry of goals couldn't have come at a better time.
Backing up his winner at Swansea City earlier this month, the 20-year-old broke his Ashton Gate duck in emphatic fashion at the weekend with two goals to help fire his boyhood club into the fifth round of the FA Cup.
His coming-of-age performance in his first start of the season comes in the wake of Antoine Semenyo's departure to Bournemouth. Bell may be three years his junior, but the striker has witnessed first-hand the Ghanaian's progress through the academy following his arrival from the SGS College in 2017 to the Premier League.
From a selfish perspective and while no team wants to lose their best players, Semenyo's departure means opportunity knocks for Bell. After scoring for fun with the Under-21s this season, the forward knows his time to hold down his place is now.
"It's bittersweet with Antoine leaving," he said after his brace on Saturday. "We're sad to see him go and he's a big part of what we've done in the past couple of years but he's moved on to bigger things and he's exactly where he deserves to be.
"We're buzzing for him in that sense but that's the nature of football, one person leaves and it leaves a space for someone to fill so hopefully for the rest of the season I can be that person to slot in there and bring more goals to the team.
"I've seen him go from when he first joined all the way to where he is now. He's put in that hard work on the training ground and it's paid off for him so we wish him all the best."
Bell's two goals at the weekend were nothing short of brilliant. He instinctively arrowed his first into the far corner on the angle to open the scoring and used his pace to control George Tanner's cross before slotting beyond David Button for his second.
Unlike his goal at Swansea, his dad and former City left-back Mickey Bell was watching from the stands to witness another significant moment in the growing collection of family memories.
Bell was just two-years-old when Mickey scored his 38th and last goal for City before leaving for Port Vale in the summer of 2005. His final match was one of Bell's first memories at the Robins and he still remembers the deafening roars from the home faithful.
"I was a mascot, I think I was three or four and I came onto the pitch with him," Bell added. "I remember that electric noise of the fans and being a bit scared being so little and other than that, I don't really remember much of his career here which is a bit unfortunate.
"He's been a big help in my career and he's never put too much pressure on me. He's just let me crack on with what I need to do. He was saying the other day that I was either kicking a ball or smashing a plastic golf ball around the garden from about as early as he can remember.
"He tells me just be calm and don't overthink anything. Just go out there and play your natural game.
"I've played hundreds of games over the years and goals have always been part of my game so don't try too hard and it will always come naturally. Hopefully, this is the start of a good run for me."
Saturday was another terrific day for the academy. Along with Bell's goals, Alex Scott further proved why he is one of the country's most talented young midfielders and winger Marlee Francois made his senior debut. Omar Taylor-Clarke made his second City appearance, Olly Thomas was named in the squad for the first time and Dylan Kadji was also involved in the squad.
It's a conveyor belt of talent coming through the ranks and Bell believes the secret behind the success is not only the coaches and fantastic facilities at the High Performance Centre, but also exposing them to opponents above their age group.
He said: "I think just the fact that players always get challenged. If they are doing well in their age group it's straight up to the next one and getting used to playing bigger, more physical lads bodes well for getting put in scenarios in the first-team because everyone is always a little sharper than you when you first come through.
"All of us lads have done that. We played in Under-23s when we were young, and 18s so I think that was one of the big things that the academy does really well. The talent is endless with the High Performance Centre as well.
"With those facilities, there's only going to be more and it brings an opportunity to develop these athletes who are technically very good."
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