Chris Hughton believes young forward James Tilley will cherish his big weekend away with the first team – despite a very short debut.

The under-18s’ marksman got on for at most five seconds at the end of the 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough.

He did not touch the ball but goes down in the record books as a senior Seagulls player.

Boss Hughton admitted he would have loved to have been able to throw him on sooner.

But he said the experience was about more than just playing time for the 16-year-old.

Hughton said: “I wanted to get a result. You bring him on earlier and you end up losing and it’s perhaps not such a nice feeling for the lad.

“I was conscious of that as well but I wanted him to make his debut.”

Tilley tweeted about the ordeal of his initiation ceremony – singing a song to the squad – in the run-up to the game.

Hughton added: “He will cherish the occasion. He will have enjoyed all of it but he is a young player who we think will be a very bright prospect.”

Tilley replaced Jake Forster-Caskey, who remains Albion’s youngest ever first-team player.