ROOKIE keeper Sean Dayus is determined to nail down the number one jersey at Worcester City having been thrust into his competitive first-team debut.

The 17-year-old, born and bred in Worcester, stepped up from under-21 and under-18 floodlit football to impress in City’s 1-1 draw at Boldmere St Michaels on Saturday.

His opportunity came about with Matt Gwynne set to miss the rest of the season with a hand injury picked up at work and on-loan West Bromwich Albion stopper Adam Przybek suffering from concussion sustained in the 2-1 defeat to Bromsgrove Sporting seven days ago.

Przybek is unlikely to receive clearance from the Baggies in time to feature in tonight’s trip to Stourport Swifts (7.45) with Dayus keen to seize another chance to shine.

“It was a bit of a shock to get the call but a good one,” said Dayus.

“The challenge I set myself at the start of the season was to play for the first team and now I want to kick on.

“Hopefully I will play again at Stourport and make the manager think a bit. That’s what I am looking to do.

“I am aiming high. I want to be first choice and if I can perform well again, I can get myself in there.”

Summing up his first start, Dayus added: “A lot of people in Worcester would love to have this opportunity, it is an honour.

“From the age of nine or 10 I wanted to play for the youth teams, got in and then went through the system. It is a really proud moment.

“It was great and a very different type of football to the under-21s. There was a really competitive nature with both teams going for it until the last minute.

“Everything was on the line and you could feel that right the way through. It was good fun to be a part of.

“Playing around experienced lads like Mark Smith, Jordan Stoddart and Mat Birley was a big learning curve, they talked throughout the game and you pick up so much.”

On his goalkeeping conundrum, manager John Snape said: “I don’t think Matt will appear between now and the end of the season unless something miraculous happens.

“We cannot play Adam without clearance because of the nature of his injury. We will have to see how the situation unfolds.”