ACCRINGTON Stanley new boy Dimitar Evtimov didn’t expect to make his Reds debut in the circumstances he did.

Jonny Maxted’s sending off at Charlton meant the Bulgarian goalkeeper came on for the final 15 minutes at the Valley.

And he was beaten by Karlan Grant's stoppage time penalty as the Addicks secured three points.

Having only signed for Stanley on Friday, Evtimov is happy with the way he has been welcomed in to the club by the rest of the squad.

“I didn’t expect to make my debut in these circumstances, it was harsh on Jonny to get sent off - I don’t think he deserved to get sent off," he said.

“He played really well up to that. I had to come and do my best, unfortunately I couldn’t save the penalty."

The new signing dived the right way for the penalty, but said he had no time to do his homework on Charlton's spot kick takers.

“Yeah I dived the right way, I had a feeling he was going to put it there," he added.

“It was a good penalty, it was right in the corner so I couldn’t do anything about it.

“I met the boys (on Friday) so it was pretty much my first day with them.

“It was difficult to come on in a place like this against Charlton. We didn’t deserve to lose, I thought a draw would the fair.

“Everybody was down in the dumps because no one thought we were going to lose this game, we were pretty solid at the back.

“It was very harsh on them and the fans that had travelled all the way from Accrington to watch this game and lose this way.

“The boys are so passionate, I could tell from the moment they introduced themselves, so passionate to help this club in a positive way."

Evtimov, who left Burton last week after his short-term contract expired, is now set to start in Saturday's FA Cup tie against Championship promotion-chasers Derby County given Maxted's dismissal.

The 25-year-old made 10 appearances for Burton Albion prior to joining John Coleman's side and said the decision to move to the Wham Stadium was an easy one.

“I had a chat with the manager," he added. "I had an offer from another team, but then I had a chat with the manager and really it was a two minute talk on the phone.

“From what I heard from him I was really pleased and I thought this was the right place for me to carry on my career."