Ryley Towler had one professional goal in his career before taking to the pitch against Bolton.
But the January signing from Bristol City trebled his tally by bagging a brace in a remarkable Fratton Park victory.
He converted fine crosses from Joe Rafferty and Joe Morrell after the hosts had fallen behind early in the second half.
Colby Bishop’s flick then erased any fears of a nervy finale and Towler was delighted to make such a big impact.
The centre-back said: “It was a quality three points against a very tough side, especially after we fell behind.
“To score two goals in front of the Fratton End was some feeling – the first one was a brilliant ball from Raffs. He just put it on my head.
"I don’t really score goals, so to get two in one game was quality. It’s a great feeling – there’s none better."
“I didn’t really know what to do, so I just ran off and it was great to have some of my mates in the crowd.
“Then there was a great ball from Joe and I was at the back stick to tap it in. I was going to do a knee slide, but the ground looked a bit hard!
“I don’t really score goals, so to get two in one game was quality. It’s a great feeling – there’s none better.
“We had to back up the result from Saturday and the boys kept going after conceding, winning all our battles.
“It didn’t faze us and I thought we were the better team – deep down I always knew that we would score eventually.
“Bolton are right up there and beating them shows what a good side we are, so we have to look to kick on now.
“We can build on this when we go to Cambridge and will work hard when we return to training on Thursday.”