Graeme Lee details Huddersfield Town goalkeeper's debut for Hartlepool United in Northampton Town defeat
Graeme Lee has praised goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic for being ready and able to compete for Hartlepool United after being on international duty with Australia.
The Huddersfield Town loanee featured for his country in the Netherlands on Friday but was required to take an early flight home to link up with the Pools squad for the trip to Sixfields after No.1 Ben Killip missed the journey through illness.
Bilokapic has yet to make an appearance for Pools since making the loan switch from the Terriers in January, with his only senior appearance coming in the FA Cup third round as a substitute.
But the 19-year-old was thrust into the action at Sixfields from the off and gave a solid account of himself albeit on the losing side.
“Huddersfield had sorted it out so he was going to make the bench, they didn’t want him to miss the game which was brilliant,” explained Lee.
“He got a flight back early so he was always going to be with us but not to the extent of expecting to play after playing yesterday.
“Ben was ill, we assessed him this morning before getting on the bus. He was up all night and you could see he wasn't very well this morning.
“He turned up to get assessed but he felt way off what he needed to be.
“So we gave Nic a ring just to double check he was ok before we picked him up and he’s come in and he's done alright today especially with playing yesterday but obviously the result doesn't help.”