Nartadjiev and Prokhorov featured in Wednesday's game
Barry Nicholson was pleased to see Uzbek pair Rustam Nartadjiev and Sergey Prokhorov make their first appearances in a Town shirt on Wednesday afternoon.The Lokomotiv Tashkent duo have been training regularly with Nicholson’s development squad in recent weeks, and got their first taste of the English game against Carlisle United.
Nicholson’s side lost the game 2-1 at Poolfoot Farm but admitted he was delighted seeing the youngsters come on for their debuts.
He said: “I’m pleased for them because they’ve had to wait a long time to play a game.
“They’ve been training constantly with us since September now and they’re obviously over here getting a taste of life in the North West of England.
“It’s been difficult for them because of the language barrier and not playing a lot of games, but they’ve trained really well and delighted they got on the pitch.
“This is the first game we’ve been able to play them because obviously the new manager has come in and we’ve had to look at different players.
“This was the first opportunity they’ve got on the pitch so I’m pleased for them as I thought they did really well.
“Rustam looked composed going on in goal and passed little balls out from the back, and Sergey was very similar too.”