The 19-year-old caught the eye on Wednesday night, as three neat finishes helped The Heed into the first round of the Durham Challenge Cup via a 6-0 scoreline.<\/p>\n
“I think it was a really good performance,” said Thomas.<\/p>\n
“We scored quite a few and kept a clean sheet as well, which is always a bonus.<\/p>\n
“Playing a senior team will have been a great experience for the few lads who’ve just played academy football.<\/p>\n
“It was good to get a nice crowd in – it’s always better when you score and hear people cheering.<\/p>\n
“I’m happy to get the hat-trick over the line as well. I missed a chance around the 80th minute, so there was no way I was letting anyone else take that penalty!<\/p>\n
“We could’ve maybe got a few more, but you can’t complain with a 6-0 win at the end of the day.”<\/p>\n
The striker has enjoyed a taste of the mens’ game already this season, as a spell with Dunston UTS in the Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division was followed up with a move to Northern League side Crook Town.<\/p>\n
“I’m enjoying it to be honest,” Thomas added.<\/p>\n
“It’s obviously harder as I’m up against older players and it’s much more physical.<\/p>\n
“It’s good for my development and helping my reach my main aim which is to impress here at Gateshead.<\/p>\n
“I’ve trained quite a bit with the first-team here and the intensity is very high.<\/p>\n
“It helps me get to know the lads, and it also improves weaknesses of my game.”<\/p>\n
Ben Clark’s side will host Spennymoor Town in the next round of the competition, and Thomas is already anticipating an interesting tie.<\/p>\n
“I’m looking forward to it,” the frontman said.<\/p>\n
“They’re rivals and the club played them in the FA Youth Cup this season – there should be a good crowd here for it.<\/p>\n
“We’ll have another strong team out and hopefully we can get the victory.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"