West Ham midfielder Mark Noble was delighted for fellow academy graduates Jack Collison and James Tomkins after they were involved in yesterday's 2-0 defeat by Arsenal.
Reserve-team captain Collison, at 19, is five months older than the 18-year-old Tomkins and the midfielder went one better than the England youth international defender by being called into action.
"I was really hoping they would get a chance today," he told whufc.com. "Jack got a lot of the game because of Freddie's injury and I am a bit gutted Tomks never come on but he will get his chance soon."
Noble will not be the only one happy - Academy director Tony Carr can now point to five players involved in the first team, with Anton Ferdinand and Kyel Reid the other two to have gone right through the ranks.