Mnoga: Portsmouth debut was best experience of my life

The 16-year-old was handed a start in the 1-0 Checkatrade Trophy victory over Crawley last night.

And he suitably impressed at right-back, before being replaced by Tom Naylor just after the hour mark.

His debut represents a meteoric rise for the former Trafalgar School pupil, who only signed first-year scholarship terms with the club back in June.

He is the second-youngest player to represent the Blues in post-war history, behind Joe Hancott, who made his debut in last season's Checkatrade Trophy.

Using his official Twitter account, @hajimnoga, Mnoga thanked those who have helped him along the way.

And the teenager expressed hope that plenty more Pompey first-team appearances would be on offer in the future with yet more hard work.

His tweet read: '˜What a feeling making my first team debut!

'˜Best experience of my life and hopefully more to come.

'˜Big thank you to everyone who has helped me so far on this journey.

'˜Now it's time to get my head down and keep working harder.'