Did his brother have a little word with the gaffer? If he did it was probably the best bit of advice he has ever given the boss…
In all the years of supporting Town I cannot quite remember such a fairy tale ending as this.
Call it the luck of the Irish if you wish but when Noel Hunt entered the fray; I don`t think anyone could have predicted what was to unfold.
His first involvement in the dying embers of the game was to get a bloody nose and it seemed almost fitting that he should return to the action with a nameless and numberless shirt because let`s face it, his performances over the last 2 years have been largely anonymous and at almost 32 his future looked decidedly bleak.
What occurred next though was Roy of The Rovers stuff and as Noel said afterwards, the way things developed would be too fanciful to be have been scripted.
Five minutes into injury time and his first genuine touch was a shot that found its way into the back of the Charlton net to ensure that Town took all three points!
It was in fact the last kick of the match and it propelled the blues to second in the table. At the time we had assumed that it would only be for a few hours as the Championship prepared itself for the rest of the day`s fixtures.
But the football Gods deemed it necessary to ensure Town stayed there, as clubs around them in the table dropped precious points – including leaders Derby who lost to our next opponents Leeds.
I am happy to eat lots of humble pie now. I will be honest and thought this was a poor signing but the way Noel took his goal suggests that he has the ability and hopefully too the self-belief now to continue where he left off in future.
Stephen Hunt had sold the club too him and perhaps persuaded Mick McCarthy to give his brother a chance to prove his worth and prove his worth he most certainly has!
Yes, I know it is only one game and apart from the goal he hardly touched the ball but it is nevertheless a wonderful beginning to what I hope is long and successful stay with Ipswich Town.
He has until January to impress and to score on your debut and gain all three points for the blues is a very impressive start.
Leeds United must be wondering what they did wrong?
