Youth player Stan Sargent made a quick impression in his first senior appearance for Gillingham.

The 17-year-old first-year scholar was named in the Gills squad to take on Stevenage in Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy match. He came off the bench and scored one of the penalties in the 5-4 shootout win which came after the match ended 1-1 in 90 minutes.

Pacey forward Sargent joined the Gills a year ago and has impressed in the junior ranks. He scored in the recent FA Youth Cup win over Charlton Athletic under-18s at Priestfield.

Bonner’s previously handed Harry Waldock a first senior appearance in the club’s EFL Trophy game against Crystal Palace under-21s. Defender Harry Webster has also recently agreed a professional deal after impressing in the senior set-up under the current manager.

“It's the best part of the job because you get to see how much it means to people,” said Bonner, after Sargent’s debut.

“They love it, he's absolutely buzzing.

“As soon as I walked on the pitch (after the final whistle) I said, ‘fancy a penalty?’ He was like, ‘I would love to take one’ so we were like, ‘right, you're in it, let's go.’

“It’s so nice and I'm sure he'll play in penalty shootouts where there's a bit more riding on it and a bit more pressure on it but he took that nicely.”

Sargent – a former EMC Academy player – scored the fourth of five penalties for the Gills.

Bonner was pleased to get him involved, putting him on with a few minutes remaining, replacing another young Gills forward in Joe Gbode.

The Gills Boss added: “It's nice for him, it's nice for the boys in the youth team and the academy staff because they're the ones that work with them.

“It's nice for him and his family because they work hard to get there and he's got a big game next Tuesday in the FA Youth Cup which is a proper competition.”

Gillingham under-18s play Swindon at Priestfield in the FA Youth Cup second round on Tuesday, November 19 (7pm).