Tonda Eckert's decision to keep Flynn Downes on the bench against Charlton on Saturday may have been made out of necessity after the midfielder picked up an injury before the international break, but it was a big call to give a debut to an Under-21 player ahead of the likes of Joe Aribo.
However, the young German interim boss had no doubts about giving Cameron Bragg his full debut at the Valley. His faith in the Under-21 captain was repaid in full by the 20-year-old star in the making.
Bragg was Southampton's most accurate passer in the match, finding the target 95.7% of the time from his 46 pass attempts. Two of his passes were key passes.
One player made three times more tackles than anybody else
Not only was Bragg reliable in possession, he was also a tiger without the ball. Despite only playing 75 minutes, the youngster made six tackles, three times as many as any other player.
After the match, Eckert was full of praise for his young player but not particularly surprised by his performance. He pointed out that Bragg (Braggy) plays that way in Under-21 matches.
“If you've happened to watch a couple of the games from the Under-21s you see what type of player Braggy is,“ he told the Southampton official website.
“Braggy is special, a very special character. There are not many that live and breathe football in the way he does. The way he prepares for every game is exceptional and I'm very proud and happy for him for that beautiful start.“
Eckert is not afraid to support a Saints tradition
It seems that Eckert is not afraid of playing his young charges in first-team games. In the match against Sheffield Wednesday, he had no hesitation in bringing on Barnaby Williams for his debut when Flynn Downes went off injured. Again, this was a big call with Southampton 2-1 up and in need of the victory.
Southampton has always been a club that has a proud tradition of bringing through it's Academy players and Tonda Eckert has brought into that in a big way.
Last season Tyler Dibling, Jay Robinson and Samuel Amo-Ameyaw all broke through to the first-team under Russell Martin.
As the Under-21 manager, Eckert will be more aware than anybody else at the club about what each of the current crop of Under-21's are capable of. Saints fan have been calling out for 18-year-old Nicholas Oyekunle to get more first-team action.
Bragg gets over the nightmare of Ewood Park
Cameron Bragg will no doubt be glad to put the nightmare of his debut at Blackburn Rovers in Will Still's penultimate game as manager. After travelling up at the last minute from Leicester to join the first-team squad, who were ravaged by illness, Bragg was introduced as a substitute with ten minutes to go and the scores level at 1-1.
Bragg's first involvement was to struggle to clear the ball from a dangerous area, gifting Blackburn the winner.
At the end of the Charlton match, Bragg gratefully accepted the applause of the Saints' fans who had travelled in their numbers to the Valley.
Serenaded with “he's one of our own“ by the fans, it looks like the future could be very bright indeed for Cameron Bragg.
As far as gambles go, Eckert knew that he had an ace up his sleeve!