In Cheltenham Town's clash against West Ham United U-21, club history was made and five Academy stars featured for the first team.
Robins head coach Wade Elliott selected centre-back Cameron Walters to start and make his professional debut in Town's final Papa John's Trophy Group match against Premier League 2 Division 1 side West Ham United U-21.
In doing so, he became Cheltenham Town's youngest player at 16 years and nine days old, and put in a good performance beside experienced first team defenders Charlie Raglan and Tom Bradbury.
"I thought Cam did really well. There's a strong link between the first team and the academy. We are ontop with who deserves opportunities and Cam has been rewarded with his performances in the academy," said Elliott after yesterday's match.
Also in the starting eleven was full-back Adulai Sambu, who made his home debut for the Robins last night. The 18-year-old has already featured for Cheltenham in the competition-he was subbed late on in the 2-1 victory away to MK Dons, and last night he showed again why he deserved the opportunity to make an appearance. His strong performance against the Hammers encouraged fans to vote for him as their Man of the Match.
Versatile scholar Jay Simpson, who is currently on loan at Fairford Town, was called off the bench in the 78th minute to help get the home side back infront at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium. In doing so, Simpson also made his professional debut, and inside the 12 minutes he had on the pitch he ran relentlessly, causing the opposition problems in the later stages of the contest.
Freddy Willcox and Brandon Liggett, two scholars who made appearances in our pre-season matches, were un-used substitutions for the match as well.
