Academy player Josh Arnold is hungry for more after making his Maidstone debut.

Arnold made a lively 10-minute cameo appearance in front of the TV cameras at Boreham Wood on Saturday night.

It completed a whirlwind few days for the striker who came to manager Hakan Hayrettin’s attention after scoring twice in a 4-3 FA Youth Cup win at Dartford on Wednesday night.

He was invited to train with the first-team squad for the first time on Friday, where his efforts earned a seat on the bus to Boreham Wood as Maidstone battle an injury crisis.

There were plenty of nerves overnight but the second-year scholar didn’t look overawed in the slightest on the pitch, letting the Wood defence know he was around and having a shot on goal.

Arnold, who turned 18 last month, enjoyed the experience, if not the 3-1 defeat, and will do everything he can to ensure his appearance isn’t a one-off.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted but I’m going to keep pushing, keep driving and try and keep in the first team,” said Arnold, who lives in Sheppey.

“It came right out of the blue. I was really surprised but I was happy about it and I did what I had to do.

“I had a good game in the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday, they had a chat about it and brought me in to training.

“The manager said I did well, so he was going to bring me along.

“It’s very exciting for an 18-year-old to get on the pitch with the first-team lads.

“I was nervous on Friday night, really, really nervous, but I’m here now and it’s a step forward for me.

“I love to get stuck in, that’s my game, I’m a very aggressive striker, it just wasn’t the scoreline we were looking for.

“I’m going to go back now and train myself up more, and get myself 100 times better.

“I want to keep playing, of course I do.

“Why would I want to stop at one game, when I could go for more and hopefully score?

“I want to score, that’s what I want to do.

“It’s a lot quicker than academy football - it’s very, very quick out there - but I’ll get up to speed.”

The chance to give Arnold a run-out is the one positive to come out of Maidstone’s injury problems.

Hayrettin liked the look of the teenager and won’t hesitate to give youth a chance.

He said: “The good thing for me is I had the opportunity to put an academy kid on, Josh.

“In 10 minutes he ran around and I was pleased for him.

“Listen, I’m always open to that, I’ve proved that and I’ll do that again.”