Rai Simons admits that even he has been surprised by his rapid progress after scoring his first professional goal for Chesterfield at the weekend.

The 19-year-old struck his maiden goal in only his third start for Chesterfield in their 3-1 defeat against Gillingham at the Proact Stadium in the Sky Bet League One.

Simons was still playing at the non-League level for Ilkeston last season, but looks to have made a seamless transition since making his first-team debut at home to Burton Albion a fortnight ago.

“It’s happening very quickly but I’m taking it in my stride,” Simons said. “On a personal level I’m very pleased with how things are progressing. I didn’t expect to be in the team so quickly, if I’m honest.

“There’s a big difference going from non-League to the professional game, you have to be more committed to your game and your lifestyle.

“The key for me is to find the balance off the field as well as on the field. I know the lifestyle comes with it so I have to deal with it to reach where I want to go.”

The Bermuda striker exhibited his growing confidence with an ice-cool finish in the 35th minute to level the score, but it was not enough to earn the home side any points as two second-half headers handed Gillingham the victory.

Simons said that ending up on the losing side had taken some of the gloss off an otherwise memorable afternoon.

“I got my first professional goal, so I’m happy with that but the result does spoil that,” Simons said.

“I just tried to keep my composure. When I first got open I was just going to lash it, but I took a breath, took another touch, composed myself and hoped for the best — and it went in the back of the net. I was a bit nervous, but I struck it and it went in.”

With his Chesterfield goal tally up and running, Simons now hopes to provide the team with more attacking firepower and evolve into a key player for Dean Saunders’s side, who are languishing in sixteenth place in the table.

“I have full confidence in my abilities and when I’m on the ball I feel confident and comfortable,” Simons said. “I’ll be looking to go out and score some more goals or whatever helps the team.”

Simons’s steep career trajectory has been eagerly followed by Bermuda’s football fraternity, with several supporters at North Village’s game against Somerset Trojans at the weekend overheard discussing his debut goal.

“I’ve seen I’ve got messages and messages and first I’ll answer my parents first to let them know that I scored,” Simons said. “I hope they and everyone back home is proud of me.”

Saunders enthused about Simons’s performance and believed his side played far better against Gillingham than the scoreline suggested.

“The stats tell you everything and we had 61 per cent of the possession,” said the Chesterfield manager. “I thought the performance was excellent in between them scoring.

“We scored a great goal through Rai Simons. It was another good performance by him today.”