It was a proud night for the Yeovil Town Elite Player Development Programme on Wednesday as three members of the scheme in partnership with Yeovil College were involved in first team action.

Ollie Haste, who had been previously named on the bench in pre-season, enjoyed his first start for the club, completing 90 minutes and earning praise from first team manager Darren Sarll in his weekly press conference.

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, the boss said, “I was really pleased with the boys who came out of the college programme. Ollie Haste I thought was magnificent, talk about standing up to the opportunity.

In terms of the experience I was able to give him, he will remember that for the rest of his life and the same with young Jake Graziano, they coped brilliantly.“

The wide-man had an effort cleared off the line in the second half and proved to be a thorn in the Bridgwater United side throughout the game.

Graziano, who was also mentioned by Sarll, is another member of the scheme also started for Town, starting on the right hand side of a young defence which was able to keep Bridgwater at arms-length for the majority of the cup tie.

Late in the day, with the game beyond doubt, Sarll said he wanted to give the young players on the bench a moment to remember, bringing on a third EPDP product in Corey Andrews (pictured).

In the coming weeks, the EPDP programme will be holding trials for the next academic year, for more information on the programme and the trials, click HERE.