Carlisle United have sent young keeper Gabriel Breeze out on loan for a month to gain serious non-League experience.
He has joined Widnes, who play in the Northern Premier League Division One West alongside Workington, and he made his debut at Newcastle Town last night.
Widnes are without a League win so far and they went down again, 2-1 after holding a 1-0 interval lead,
Breeze made a couple of good stops to keep his side in front but the game turned when Widnes had Ryan Gibson sent off on 64 minutes for a second booking.
Two goals in the 75th and 78th minutes gave Newcastle the points against the ten men and there was nothing Breeze could do about either goal.
The 18-year-old had signed a two-year professional deal whilst still just halfway through his scholarship programme at Brunton Park in 2021 where he works under former Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard.
He had entered the academy system as a teenager and progressed quickly to earn his place in the first-team dressing room. He was allocated a squad number by manager Paul Simpson this summer.
Breeze joins Michael Ellison’s squad at a difficult time as they sit bottom of the table and on Saturday crashed out of the FA Trophy, beaten 5-1 at League leaders and title favourites Macclesfield Town.
It’s been a double loan swoop by Ellison as Bermudan winger Keyni Mills has also linked up with the League strugglers.
The 18-year-old joins on an initial one-month loan deal from Northern Premier League Premier Division side Radcliffe.
Mills moved to there in the summer after leaving Tranmere Rovers and has made four appearances for Bobby Grant’s side this season.
Mills picked up the best player award for Bermuda in the 2021 CONCACAF Men’s U20 Qualifiers, helping his side finish in a respectable third place in the group, with two wins out of three against Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Widnes are scheduled to play at Workington on November 12.