STANLEY teenager Chris Turner admitted he was shocked to make his first senior start for Accrington - but hopes he can now seize his chance.

The 18-year-old was a late call-up on Saturday after John Mullin was injured in the warm-up and he turned in a top performance against Rochdale despite the 3-1 defeat.

The Burnley-born midfielder admitted it was a dream come true to make his first team bow despite the loss.

"It was excellent to play in front of a big crowd and the Stanley Ultras," said Turner, who has come through a scholarship at the FES to sign a professional contract last summer.

"Usually we get to the ground and me and a few of the younger lads hang around and just hope we are on the bench.

"Then when I was taken to one side and told I was going to start I nearly had a heart attack.

"I couldn’t believe it. I have appeared in the Football League twice but it has just been ten minutes at the end when I have been unable to do much.

"So when I started I loved it. I thought I would be a lot more nervous but people like Colin Murdock and Paul Mullin told me to just go out there and do my best and do what I did in training. It was brilliant."

The wideman did put the ball in the net - but had his ‘goal’ ruled out as the whistle had gone.

"I am still counting that one," he said. "I saw it hit the back of the net and wondered what I was going to do and then I realised everyone had stopped. I was gutted so I need to get a real one now."

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the young footballer so far.

As a Burnley fan, he was at the Clarets Centre of Excellence aged from seven until he was released at 16.

"I was there a long time but was released because I was small," he said. "I was a dot but I seem to have grown in the last two years.

"I went from around 5ft 7" to bang on six foot now - I have sprung up.

"But being released from Burnley was a massive blow. I had been there all my life and I didn’t think I was going to be able to pick myself up from it.

"I just went playing at St Josephs with my mates and that’s where Phil Hackney spotted me.

"He asked me to go for a trial at Accrington, I did, got on a YTS and then they signed me up.

"And looking back, being released from Burnley was a blessing in disguise.

"My best mate, Adam Kay, is a pro at Burnley and he has hardly been near the first team, I think he has been on the bench once.

"But I have actually played in the Football League and I knew I had to take my chance on Saturday.

"I knew I might not get another so I had to play to the best of my ability and put everything into it."

Turner is hoping he has done enough to persuade boss John Coleman to give him another start.

"The gaffer praised me at the end and said that I have come off the pitch empty and had ran my socks off and that’s what I wanted to do.

"I now have to hope I have done enough to get a couple of matches.

"I don’t expect to start every week and I know I have got a lot to learn but I am just hoping I get 20 minutes here and there at least and I know I have got to do my best in that time."