Ben Stevenson admits he was unsure how to celebrate after scoring on his Colchester United debut.

The midfielder, who joined the U’s on loan from Championship club Wolves on deadline day, came off the bench to score the U’s opener in their 2-0 triumph over Newport County, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Stevenson, who left his boyhood club Coventry City to join Wolves before linking up with Colchester, had only been on the pitch ten minutes when he netted with a clever backheel for his new side.

The 20-year-old scored only the fourth goal of his career when he netted against Newport but says his successful U’s debut has given him a big lift.

Stevenson said: “It’s a dream start and it’s got my confidence back.

“I’m really looking forward to the next few games and I can’t wait to keep playing.

“I was so happy, I didn’t even know how to celebrate as I’m not used to scoring loads of goals.

“I don’t think I’ve ever finished like that in my life!

“It was just instinct really and I think it’s the first goal I’ve scored in the box.

“I don’t really get myself in the box but I played a different role to the one I was used to at Coventry.

“Credit goes to Courtney (Senior), because he set it up on a plate for me really.

“Hopefully it allows me to get into the box and come up with more goals like that.

“I was happy to come on in my first game and make an impact and hopefully, I can keep doing that.”

Stevenson’s goal helped Colchester close to within five points of the play-off positions in League Two and he is now hoping it will be the springboard for them to push for a top-seven finish.

“I’m really impressed with the lads and our style of play,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to between now and the end of the season and hopefully, we can push for the play-offs.

“It had been a winless run but four of those six games had been draws and you can tell from the way they pass it around they probably deserved more reward than they got.

“Hopefully now after this win we can kick on and start getting more wins, rather than draws.”

Stevenson is hoping his performance as a substitute for Colchester against Newport will earn him a place in John McGreal’s starting line-up for their game at Carlisle United, this weekend.

He added: “Last season, I played 40 games but this season, I’ve only had 12 appearances for Coventry.

“I knew that Wolves were keen to get me out on loan and when I found out about Colchester, I was really excited.”