Tottenham's 4-0 Europa League win over Wolfsberger AC will live long in the memory for a number of the club's talented youngsters.
Three goals to the good from the first leg, Jose Mourinho once again named a handful of the club's academy players in the matchday squad as Dane Scarlett, Marcel Lavinier, Nile John and Dilan Markanday took their place in the matchday 23.
With Scarlett already making his European debut off the bench back in November, the highly-rated striker was again given some pitch time as he played a big role in the fourth goal after winning the ball on the edge of the box to tee up Carlos Vinicius.
John, who has been with the club since the age of seven, was also introduced at the same time as Scarlett, with full-back Lavinier replacing Matt Doherty seven minutes earlier.
Speaking to the club's official website, both John and Lavinier opened up on their experiences of playing in the Tottenham senior side for the very first time, with the former revealing the exact moment he found out he would be with the first team.
“I was in education at home on Monday morning and I got a call from Dean (Rastrick, Academy Manager) at about 10.30 saying that I was with the first team,” explained the midfielder, who was on Zoom studying for his BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport when the phone rang.
“I assumed I was going to be training with the first team, then when Tuesday came I found out I was involved in the squad, I was getting my suit fitted and things like that, so it was a crazy experience!
“It was surreal being out there on the pitch, something that I’d dreamed about, making an appearance for the first team. I was very nervous when the time came but I felt like I kept my cool, tried to do my best for the team and I was really happy to make my debut.
"It says a lot with the staff and the players that are at this Club – it shows that players who work hard can get the opportunity under a manager who believes in youth, so it’s something to always look up to and build towards because it can happen and I’m an example of that, likewise with Dane (Scarlett) as well.
"I’m extremely thankful to Jose and his staff for giving me this opportunity and it’s something that hopefully I can progress with, maybe potentially a Premier League debut when the time is right. That’s something I’m striving for and working towards and with the help of the staff and me pushing myself as much as I can, hopefully it can come.”
While John has been at the club for over 10 years now, Lavinier only linked up with Spurs in the summer following his release from Chelsea.
As he has only been in north London for a few months since moving across the capital, Wednesday was actually the first time he had set foot inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I’ve done the Skywalk up on the stadium but it’s my first time in here – it’s an amazing stadium, I’m just happy that I could have this special achievement and make my debut here,” revealed the full-back.
“It’s surreal. As soon as I got on the pitch, I was like ‘wow’, and thinking that this is what I want to do on a regular basis.
“The boys did well, dictated the game, defended well and kept a clean sheet which was good and, for me personally, I’m so happy to make my debut – it shows that the hard work that I’ve been putting in is finally paying off and I just hope there’s more to come.
"I’ve got to thank all the coaching staff at Tottenham, Jose Mourinho, the Under-23s coaching staff… everyone behind the scenes because I haven’t done it by myself, I’ve been supported by them and ever since I’ve come here I’ve felt welcomed, I’ve felt supported and once I get that feeling, I can just go on the pitch and the rest takes care of itself really.
"I’ve had a taste of it now and I want to try to get back to it, and to do all I can to make sure that this is a regular thing.”
