JADEN Crowhurst will be looking to build on his impressive debut when Southend United head to Halifax Town on Tuesday night

The 18-year-old made his first senior appearance for the Shrimpers at Solihull Moors on Saturday.

But the right wing-back is now setting his sights onto tomorrow's encounter at the Shay.

“We’ve got to build from Saturday,” said Crowhurst.

“We know we have a lot of quality throughout our squad to cause teams a lot of problems and we know we can all reach higher levels as well.

“I think Halifax will offer different things compared to Solihull but we will focus on us and make sure we are ready.

“As for me, every opportunity I get I’ll be taking with both hands and I’ll give everything I have in each game.”

The Benfleet based Crowhurst certainly did that against Solihull at the weekend.

And he was incredibly excited to selected in Kevin Maher’s starting line-up.

“When I found out that I was starting, I instantly got a buzz knowing I was going to make my debut for Southend,” said Crowhurst.

“It’s the team that I’ve come through the youth ranks with and been captain of at every age group.

“All pre- season the gaffer has been very good with me , helping me improve and understand my role so I’m happy that he showed trust in me to go play Saturday.”

Crowhurst was solid down the right hand side in the 1-1 draw and felt the Shrimpers deserved more than a share of the spoils.

“I thought we was the better team across the 90 minutes,” said Crowhurst.

“We created a lot of chances and kept their chances to a minimum so I thought we was unlucky to go in 1-0 down at half time.

“In the second half we believed we could go out there and score which we did and we could have got more against tough opposition.”

However, Crowhurst became accustomed to difficult challenges while on loan at Great Wakering Rovers towards the end of last season.

And the former Woodlands School pupil feels his time at Burroughs Park was hugely beneficial.

“I really enjoyed my time at Wakering,” said Crowhurst.

“They made me feel very welcome from the start and I wanted to help them in their survival hopes too.

“Playing men’s football week in week out felt really good, it helped me deal with the physical side of the game and made me understand what it means for people around a club.

“I’m also happy they stayed in the league and I’m thankful they showed faith and played me every minute.”

Crowhurst had previously been both Arsenal and West Ham before joining Blues in the under 13 age group.

But he is not looking too far ahead.

“I’m just taking each training session and each game at a time,” said Crowhurst.

“I’m working hard and just want to improve.

“Wvery opportunity I get I’ll be grateful for and will not waste it.”