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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
Richard Forrester

Bristol City ace Dylan Kadji delivers his own harsh reality check after dream debut

Dylan Kadji will rewatch the footage of the most memorable night of his blossoming career, not to reminisce about his debut goal but to find pointers on how to improve as a player.

It's a telling personality trait of the 18-year-old midfielder who repaid Nigel Pearson's faith by starring in Bristol City's second-round Carabao Cup victory over Wycombe on Wednesday night.

Kadji's dream debut couldn't have gone any better after veteran Andy King provided him with some words of wisdom before kick-off. It took him seven minutes to get off the mark when he poked him a corner from close range in City's 3-1 victory.

"I didn't know what to do," Kadji said when describing the moment the ball hit the back of the net. "I was looking around thinking someone help me, I didn't know what I was doing so I just ran to the corner and did a little fist to the air.

"There were so many bodies in the way, I just saw the ball come and had one man pinned so I just kicked it. I don't even know how I kicked the ball but it went in.

"I had a talk with Kingy in the changing rooms and he told me 'you only get one debut - make sure it's one to remember' so what a memory I'm going to have, scoring on my debut.

"I found out (I was starting) in the training session the day before the game. It was a mix of emotions because the game felt ages away when I found out so I was just more excited and when it came to the game I was a bit nervy.

"But I've got a good group of boys here that calm me down and a good group of staff who gave me good information and helped me out throughout the game."

Kadji's opportunity had been in the making throughout the summer after training with the senior squad on the back of a hugely impressive campaign for the Under-23s last season. He headed for the pre-season training camp of Austria and featured in a pre-season game against Bournemouth from the bench.

It's another nod to the work the likes of Brian Tinnion and Co are doing within the City academy with the talented midfielder becoming the latest in a line of young players to be handed an opportunity under Nigel Pearson.

Dylan Kadji scores to put City ahead (Robbie Stephenson/JMP)

Kadji has all the attributes of a typical modern-day footballer and prides his game on the likes of Yaya Toure and Paul Pogba. Although he knows there is plenty of work to do if he wants to earn more opportunities in the future and he's willing to work on and off the pitch to achieve his ambition.

"I knew it was going to come at some point because I've been working hard and I've been trying to show myself and show what I can do in the first-team training sessions and the Under-23 games so I'm just happy that it came early in the season so I can have more opportunities in the future," he added.

"This one (game) was way more physical (than the U23s) and I've still got a lot to learn with my clearances and second balls so it's a learning curve and something I can take away from the game.

"The main focus is just to carry on keeping the high standards in training and making sure I can get whatever I can get out of it and looking back at the footage and seeing where I can get better."

Pearson will be keen not to put any expectation on the shoulders of his young midfielder. However, with the likes of Alex Scott, Tommy Conway, Antoine Semenyo and Ayman Benarous coming through the youth set-up with the potential they are showing, it's no wonder there is a sense of intrigue and excitement when another player emerges from the youth set-up.

Kadji signed his first professional contract in November and he admitted one of the main motivations to play for the Robins was because of the opportunities for players coming through.

He said: "That's one thing that really attracts me to this club is that the young players very good opportunities and when they do well, they get rewarded."

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