THE fairy-tale season being enjoyed by Gillingham goalkeeper Jason Brown continued last night with his arrival in Cardiff to link up with the Wales Under-21 international squad.

The 19-year-old keeper, who qualifies for Wales through grandparents, met up with the rest of the 18-man squad for the first time at the Vale of Glamorgan hotel for a three-day get together.

For Brown, a virtual unknown reserve until he made his league debut for Gillingham against Grimsby on March 5, it has been a meteoric rise since ousting first choice Vince Bartram whose run of 103 consecutive appearances ended last month.

Brown will train with the squad for three days before linking up with his Gillingham team-mates as they prepare for Sunday's final league match of the season at Watford.

"A lot has happened to me in a short space of time and it's just been amazing," said Brown. "If someone had said to me at the start of the season that I would be involved in an international squad I would have laughed."

Jimmy Shoulder, the Wales Under-21 team manager said: "We're just getting everyone together well in advance of our UEFA Under-21 championship match against Finland in September. It's important that the players get to know each other, especially the newcomers."

If Brown is selected in September then Wales will need him in top form. The Under-21s have not won a match in four and a half years.

Gillingham Reserves ended a run of five straight defeats with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth in yesterday's Avon Insurance Combination match at Priestfied. Ben White and Ryan Peter were on target for Gillingham while defender Adrian Pennock completed another 90 minutes in his comeback from serious injury.