KIERON Forbes managed to retain his composure during his successful debut for the Hornets - one he's been dreaming about for most of his life.

The youngster who celebrates his 17th birthday tomorrow (Friday) had the perfect build up to his birthday with his first appearance for Aidy Boothroyd's side in the 3-0 Carling Cup victory over League One side Gillingham.

Forbes is a second year scholar in the Academy and has been working for the past year under the leadership of David Dodds.

The Brent born midfielder said: "It felt good to make my debut, I've been waiting for that all my life but I'm here to play football. It was very nerve-racking but once I was on the pitch it was another normal game for me.

"I knew I was in the squad for the game but when I arrived at the ground there was rumours going round that I might be on the bench. Then the gaffer came in to do his teamtalk and told me that I was going to be on the bench. It's a dream come true really, I feel I coped well. Once you're on the pitch you don't really take any notice of anything else - I just concentrated on the football."

The central midfielder slotted into his natural position with 66 minutes on the clock against the Gills and after having turned out for the reserves last season he had linked up with the team before.

This made it easier for the young Hornet to adapt to the match but it was still clearly a different type of game to what he's used to at Academy level.

Forbes added: "The tempo is a lot quicker with the first team, you've got to move the ball a lot sharper, you've got to be quicker mentally and physically you've got to be a lot sharper as well."

The midfielder will now join up with the Academy again as they prepare for their opening game of the season with the visit of Manchester City this Saturday. After an intense period of preparation, including a week with the Marines, Forbes is ready for action.

"After I finished at Lympstone with the Marines I felt very strong, you don't realise how hard it is until you do a week there. It's very different from what we do normally, but a bit of a change is good. After that you feel fit and ready for the season."

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