West Ham United youngster Junior Stanislas was beaming from ear to ear after helping Southend United to secure a 1-1 FA Cup third round draw at Chelsea.
The England Under-19 winger, who played the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge in his seventh match on loan with the League One club, was a delighted onlooker as Shrimpers' defender Peter Clarke headed in a dramatic late equaliser. Now, Stanislas is looking forward to having a second crack at Luiz Felipe Scolari's men when the Blues visit Roots Hall for a replay on Wednesday 14 January.
"It was a good game and I loved it - it was all I thought it would be. Chelsea are a superb side so we knew it would be hard and being on the wing it was difficult to get involved at times. But when I got on the ball I thought I did OK and when the goal went in right at the end there it was just an amazing feeling."
"The replay going to be a brilliant night and I can't wait. It's all a great experience for me. Games like this are good for your development and it's where you want to be."
The 19-year-old has greatly impressed during his loan spell, which began in the final week of November. Stanislas himself is enjoying the chance to play regular first team football and could even extend his stay with Southend if the two clubs can reach an agreement.
"I still have a couple of weeks left on my loan but the manager has said he would like me to stay for longer. I have a while to make up mind so I'm going to be thinking things over."
Stanislas is one of five United players out on loan, but the other four were all frustrated by the cold weather at the weekend. In the FA Cup third round, Nigel Quashie's Birmingham City and Jordan Spence's Leyton Orient saw their ties against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United postponed due to a frozen pitch. The same fate also befell Jimmy Walker's Colchester United, whose League One fixture with Tranmere Rovers was unable to beat the cold snap in League One. Barnet's home League Two fixture against Joe Widdowson's Grimsby Town was also called off.