The forward twice added to Neal Maupay’s third-minute opener on the south coast to seal Albion’s first home win of the campaign, and Connolly spoke buoyantly after the contest.
He said, “I can’t really describe it at the moment, I feel speechless and I don’t think it will sink in for a while.
“I know I won’t be sleeping this evening! I’ve been close to scoring in the last few matches but thankfully it’s come today, and I’ve scored twice. It’s the proudest moment of my career so far and now I want to push on for more.”
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It was an emphatic win that included Albion’s fastest-ever Premier League goal, and the Irishman praised the performance of the entire side.
“It was a good all-round team performance today, everyone put in a lot of effort,” he continued.
“Everyone’s been saying that the performances have been there in recent weeks, and that we’ve just been missing the results, but that’s come today.
“We got the goals and the win we deserved, and I’m just happy I was able to contribute.”
The 19-year-old also highlighted how pleased he was to make his family proud on Saturday afternoon, revealing that one member had made a special trip across from Ireland for the match.
“It made it even more special that it was at the Amex; my Dad flew over to watch this morning in the hope that I’d start, and I looked up to celebrate with him when I got the second goal.
“I’m so grateful for the hard work all my family have put in and it’s great to know I’ve made them proud.
“They’ve dropped me to training and games when I was young, and sat out in the cold watching me, so that was for them today as much as it was for me.”