YOUNGSTER MAKES HIS GILLINGHAM DEBUT

Seasalter teenager Jack Tucker admits making his Football League debut for Gillingham against Portsmouth live on Sky Sports was a dream come true.

The 17-year-old former Queen Elizabeth’s School pupil and Gills academy scholar was named on the bench for the first team for Sunday’s match amid a Priestfield defensive crisis for interim boss Peter Taylor.

With experienced centreback Gabriel Zakuani on international duty for DR Congo and Luke O’neill (hamstring) and Alex Lacey (ankle) injured, Tucker was left out of the youth team’s game on Saturday and named as a first team substitute.

Tucker – who joined Gills from Whitstable aged seven – said: “I played six first-team games in pre-season which helped the players get to know me and me get to know the style of play.

“I didn’t think I’d be making my league debut so soon. I wasn’t 100% sure I’d even be on the bench on Sunday but some close family and friends were there on the slight chance I might be.”

When defender Ben Nugent was injured moments before half-time, Tucker was introduced to play alongside Max Ehmer and fellow youth team prospect Finn O’mara.

Tucker said: “It all happened fast. He went down and I was told to warm-up straight away. Then coach Steve Lovell shouted my name and told me to get ready – I had no time to think about things, really.

“I was nervous but once you’re in the game it’s OK and playing alongside Max helped me.

“In the youth team, Mark Patterson tells you to make your first touch, first header and first pass good to set the tone – I didn’t get a touch before half-time but I had a header down the line from a throw in the second half and it felt good.”

He added: “I never would have dreamed when I signed at seven that I’d be playing in the Football League.

“It all fell into place. really. It just happened that the one game when I happened to be on the bench was the one game when there happened to be an injury in my position and it just happened that it was Portsmouth on Sky.

“I had mixed emotions at the time because it was amazing to make my debut in front of 8,000 fans but at the same time it was a disappointing result.”

Tucker was handed a start and was in the thick of the action as Gills visited Phoenix Sports in the Kent Senior Cup on Tuesday night.

He was clattered by his own keeper Steve Arnold in the build-up to Sports’ late equaliser which helped send the game to penalties and then sent his sudden-death spot-kick over the bar in the shoot-out, which Gills won 6- 5.

He added: “It was nice to start alongside some senior players and we showed great character to get through in the end.

“I always back myself with penalties – I never missed a competitive one for my school or district but I maybe leaned back with this one and it went over.”

Tucker – who is also Whitstable & Seasalter Golf Club’s junior champion and plays off six – is hungry for another chance at Gills, although he says a spell out on loan could benefit him too.

He said: “If I got the opportunity to go out on loan I think it would help me as a player. It’s never easy to break into any first team, though.”