LEE Hughes insists scoring for Worcester City gets his heart racing just as fast as when he notched at the Juventus Stadium.

The 41-year-old striker and joint-boss, the scorer of more than 200 goals in the professional game, applied the Midas touch with two goals in four minutes to settle City’s 2-0 win over Haughmond on Saturday.

His breakthrough goal was celebrated with the trademark dance from his halcyon days and one that was undoubtedly wheeled out when he notched for Notts County in the friendly that acted as the curtain-raiser for Juve’s new stadium in September 2011.

“I have some extra energy now I have built up my fitness,” quipped Hughes who spent the first part of the season beset by niggling injuries.

“I still enjoy scoring no matter what. I have scored goals at every level and it still means the same to hit the back of the net here for Worcester as it did when I scored at Juventus. The buzz is no different.”

On the match, Hughes added: “The first half was a bit scrappy. We tried to be too direct when we needed that extra pass to open up the space.

“Overall, though, the second half was very good and some of the moves we put together were great. We were very pleased with the lads.

“We knew they would play a 4-5-1, pack out the midfield and leave us without much room to operate up front.

“That was where we needed that extra pass to move around their players, give them something else to think about and use our full-backs a bit more.”

At the other end of the scale was rookie Ethan Moran, a first-half substitute for the ill Josh Sarmento.

City were without Mark Danks, Dave Reynolds, Brad Birch and Jamie Smith for the clash and had three up-and-coming prospects on the bench.

“It was a great debut for Ethan, he was superb,” said Hughes.

“I have seen him a couple of times in training and partnered him in a practice match on Thursday.

“We linked up really well that night so we decided to put him in and he had a really good impact.

“He prefers the number-10 role, he can play on the wing as well and has good feet.

"I asked him to keep it simple when he came on, to focus on getting things done in one or two touches before giving him the freedom to do what he wanted to in the final third.

“He has that many tricks up his sleeve that we want to see him show what he can do. He did everything that we asked, listened and has a good future in front of him.

“Working with lads coming through is one of the most exciting aspects of the job, especially with Ethan because he listens.

“He deserved his chance in the first team and justified it. If you don’t give people the chance, you never know.”