WEST Ham academy boss Tony Carr paid tribute to emerging youngster Mark Noble after he made his first-team debut against Norwich City at the weekend.

But now he is hoping to have one of his key players back for next Wednesday's FA Youth Cup tie at home to Blackburn, boosted by a taste of top-level action.

"Mark's played for 90 minutes in an FA Cup tie against Premiership opposition and that's a great experience for him," said Carr. "He was comfortable in that environment.

"He got into the pace of the game and as the game wore on, he got into more and more influential things.

"You couldn't have asked for much more from him. Obviously we got the right result and Mark has good reason to be very pleased with himself."