Teenager Matthew Strachan proud to be captain of Inverness Caley Thistle in Trust Trophy against Hamilton Academical
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Matthew Strachan says he enjoyed the challenge of going up against established Hamilton Academical players in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle's under-18s captain led an extremely youthful side out at New Douglas Park, battling well but falling to a 2–0 defeat.
Strachan has been on the fringes of the first team picture on a regular basis this season thanks to the injury crisis at the Caledonian Stadium, playing twice in the league.
Saturday was a very different challenge being part of a team with an average starting age of 17, but he feels they will take a lot from it.
"It was quite nerve-wracking when we first got told to be honest, but leading up to the game you calm down a wee bit and get ready to play," Strachan explained.
"The early goal was a sucker punch – there wasn't much we could really do about it – so heads dropped, but we kept going and worked hard.
"At half time the message was that we were playing well, so keep doing what we were doing.
"The big difference was just their physicality to be honest, and the pace of the game was quicker than we were used to.
"We handled it though, and the boys were great. You just want to play, and the competitiveness will be good for us."
Having had a taste of senior football now, Strachan is hoping to kick on in the first team picture.
"I just want to keep going and pushing on," he added.
"In training the manager has been talking to me and giving me good tips on how to adapt my game.
"I'm up for the challenge, and I'll try my best.
"The other guys help us and speak to us, and it's good to see some of them who have come through the youth system and been in our shoes.
"If there's something I'm not sure about in training, I can ask any of them. I want to get better.
"The tempo of the game is a lot quicker when you're playing against older boys, but it makes big difference when I go back to playing for the under-18s.
"I was just buzzing to get the chance when I first came up, but it was a big step up."
