Dreams became reality for promising Academy graduate Morgan Williams last night as he performed with great maturity on the big stage at Stamford Bridge.
The Welsh under-19 international was called into the starting line-up for his first professional start, against the host’s multi-million-pound squad, and played the full game.
“What I’ve just experienced out there is what every boy who wants to make it as a footballer would dream of,” said Morgs after a gallant exit in the Carabao Cup, going out 2-1 at Chelsea.
Morgs captured the attention of two former Wimbledon midfielders who were in attendance. He stood out for Anthony Wordsworth, who was impressed with what he saw while on commentary for our Radio WDON service.
“I thought he equipped himself extremely well,” said Crazy Gang member Vaughan Ryan. “That was the second best debut ever from a midfield academy player, behind me!”
You can see the full interview and a summary of the key points below.
Despite going out, we can be hugely proud of our efforts.
Yes, it was amazing to come here and push such a good team like that to the end of the game. We were on top of them in the dying minutes, we had good momentum building. We shut them out for the majority of the game, and we had chances ourselves.
It’s obviously such a tough place to come, but when we came in we said that with the togetherness that we have - that’s something we can be proud of. It’s just a shame we couldn’t find that equaliser.
How did it play out for you in the build-up, finding out you were going to be in the team tonight?
I was building towards it in training on Tuesday. I found out on the day, when we had a team meeting. I was buzzing and it was amazing to come to a place like this and make my full professional debut against such an historic club and push them so close. It’s something I won’t forget anytime soon.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that we actually took the lead in this game!
It was such a good feeling to see and hear our fans at the other end, all four thousand or so of them. It was amazing support from them all night. To hear the roar when we went one-up at Stamford Bridge is something not many people can experience. We put ourselves in a good position and we deserved it at that point in the game.
It was just those two moments in the course of the 90 that eventually cost us, but it was still an amazing experience.
What does this do for us now, because that was a character-building performance for the league for the rest of the season, wasn’t it?
Not many teams can come here and push Chelsea like we’ve just done and potentially get the result we deserved. To move on from that, it’s incredibly important we stay focused, we regather, rest and then go again on Saturday at Newport - which will be another tough test.
It’s an amazing experience for all of us to work off, keep motivating and know that we pushed one of the best teams in Europe. We should keep doing that in the league and play the way we can.
How do you kick on from this now yourself?
It’s almost indescribable to come to Stamford Bridge as an 18-year-old and make your full professional debut. It’s hard to imagine, but it’ll eventually sink in. To play in front of that many people is another new experience, but they keep coming and motivating me and I’m sure I can use each one, keep pushing on and do that in the league.
Scholar Kai Jennings was on the bench, that says a lot about what this club does with our young players?
We had six players who came through the academy involved in the squad for this game. It says a lot for the work the academy does and producing players able to be on this stage. It’s a great experience for all those that have come through the academy, like myself, to play here or even to just be on the bench at a young age, it’s something all the boys in the academy can aspire to and think - that could be me one day.
We can keep driving them on and make them feel like this is where they want to be - what I’ve just experienced out there, every boy would dream of.
Photos: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images).