Bolton Wanderers teen Sonny Sharples-Ahmed aiming for more

The 19-year-old midfielder completed his first 90 minutes for the Whites in their 2-1 win against Fleetwood Town in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy in midweek.

Though he had two previous appearances as a substitute in the competition, the chance to impress over a whole game was something he had dreamed about in six years coming through the academy system.

But now he has officially made his mark in the senior team, the former Walkden High Scholl student is not going to let it go to his head.

“Honestly, just getting on the pitch to play for Bolton was a dream, let alone a start,” he told The Bolton News. “It is what you work towards and to play 90 minutes was just a fantastic experience.

“The legs were tightening up at the end, but I got through it and really enjoyed it.

“Now I want to go back, work hard, and prove I can do it again.”

Sharples-Ahmed has been in the first team squad on a few occasions of late, as injuries bit hard into Ian Evatt’s midfield options. And the youngster got a reward for his patience with a full game against League Two promotion hopefuls Fleetwood, going on to have a hand in Aaron Collins’ winning goal on the night.

The first outfield academy player to make a first team appearance since Adam Senior nearly three years ago, Sharples-Ahmed said he went into the game in confident mood.

Sonny Sharples-Ahmed gets a pat on the back from Fleetwood boss Charlie Adam after the patch (Image: CameraSport - Lee Parker) “I had an inkling I was playing the day before but when we did the video sessions I knew properly,” he said.

“I’d been around the first team for a bit, you have to stay prepared, and you never know what sort of situation you might end up in. You just have to be ready to take the opportunity.

“When it came to the game the older players didn’t need to say too much, just making sure I was relaxed. it was just ‘stay calm, do what you do. Get on the ball and play.’ “And I was happy with how it went. I had to dig in a bit at the end, I was a bit knackered.

“The manager was happy but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

A regular at B Team level, Sharples-Ahmed hopes he has opened a door for more youngsters to come through and feature for the senior team.

“I’ve played B Team for a couple of seasons now and the main thing with that is just keep training hard, learning, and then the chances will hopefully come along,” he said.

“I think there are good players in that group. It’s just about staying patient in football, you never know what can happen, injuries, things like that. You just have to wait for the chance and try to take it.

“Of course, once you get a sniff of what it’s like playing first team football you do want more of it, so that’s the aim.”

Defender Noah Halford, who came through the system with Sharples-Ahmed, has recently been allowed to join Warrington Town on loan, and the midfielder is relaxed about the prospect of getting first team experience elsewhere.

“I am playing it by ear, one step at a time. If that is what the club think I need then, yeah, of course I’ll go out and play,” he added.

“I’m not banging on his door yet. It’s back to training now, keep my head down, keep working hard, get better every day.”