Just five days after making his dream Premier League debut against Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium, West Ham youngster Ben Johnson was brought back down to earth again.
Johnson was at fault for Blackburn’s second goal as he featured for West Ham’s under-23 team in the Premier League 2.
It is all part of a learning curve for the teenager, who became West Ham’s first ever 21st century born player when he made his first-team debut.
Ben Johnson makes surprise debut
Due to injuries to Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku, Johnson was thrown into the deep end by being named in West Ham’s starting line-up.
Manuel Pellegrini placed his faith in the 19-year-old to face reigning Premier League champions Man City at The Etihad Stadium.
And if that task was not challenging enough, Johnson was also playing out of position. He was operating at left-back rather than his preferred right-back spot.
But the Hammers academy product held his own for just over an hour before he was replaced by Pablo Zabaleta due to a minor calf injury.
Man City edged the game 1-0 with a dubious penalty, demonstrating Johnson’s ability to help keep things tight in senior football.
Ben Johnson brought back down to earth
The calf injury ruled Johnson out of Saturday’s win over Newcastle United, although Cresswell and Masuaku’s returns might have seen him dropped anyway.
And he dropped back into the under-23 squad on Monday night for a home game against Blackburn at Dagenham & Redbridge.
But the promising teenager could not prevent West Ham from losing 3-1. The young Hammers currently sit in the relegation zone in the Premier League 2.
And Johnson went from hero to zero by conceding a vital penalty, which allowed Blackburn to restore their lead and go 2-1 up.
After the elation of last Wednesday, Johnson was brought firmly back to earth and he will learn a lot from both experiences in the past five days.