AIDOMO EMAKHU WAS the standout performer for the Republic of Ireland U21s in their dramatic 3-2 European Championship qualifier defeat to Norway last night.
A goal and an assist were the highlights from a performance that showed endeavour on and off the ball, as well as a maturity with his decision-making in the crucial moments.
Emakhu has come a long way in the six years since he prepared to join Shamrock Rovers’ academy only for a last-minute change of heart to see the offer withdrawn.
The striker was 14 when he lined out for the club’s National League U15 side against Finn Harps. Damien Duff was taking his first tentative steps in coaching and started the Dubliner in attack against Finn Harps.
It did not go well.
Emakhu was too far behind physically to cope with the demands. He came off the pitch disappointed but would suffer a bigger blow when he was informed that he would no longer be a part of Duff’s squad.
He attempted to remain in the picture by dropping down to play for the Rovers’ U15s in the Dublin District Schoolboy League (DDSL) but there was no room for him in that group either.
So, not yet 16, he went back to where it all started to build up confidence, belief, and strength.
Crumlin United gave him the chance to play but Emakhu was ready to work.
He went on a personalised strength and conditioning plan, and increased his gym sessions.
It paid off.
Within a year he had a choice between St Patrick’s Athletic and Shelbourne. He chose the latter and was fast-tracked towards their first-team squad. Emakhu was offered a full-time professional contract just a couple of years after being deemed surplus for requirements by Rovers’ U15s.
He turned the Tolka Park deal down.
Rovers returned to offer him a place with their U19s at the behest of then academy manager Shane Robinson, who was appointed the FAI’s Assistant Director of Football in July of this year.
Stephen Bradley was now a Premier Division-winning manager at Rovers by this point. He had known Emakhu from the age of 12 given he worked previously as a scout for Arsenal. He stressed the need for Emakhu to develop as a person as much as a player.
Former Ireland international Joey O’Brien, now Duff’s assistant at Shels, was a regular sounding board in the Rovers dressing room too. So was Robbie Keane when he would spend time at the club’s Roadstone training base.
Some of the advice was technical – the timing of runs, body shape – while other elements far simpler, like stressing the importance of being in the box.
Maybe those words were ringing in Emakhu’s ears for his goal against Norway last night. After showing a willingness to put pressure on Odin Thiago Holm when the midfielder ran down a blind alley outside his own box, the forward released a quick pass for fellow Clondalkin man Sinclair Armstrong.
His strike partner’s shot was blocked and Emakhu was there to stride onto the rebound, firing home a low finish to draw Ireland level.
Some players might have stopped in their tracks after the groundwork had been done by closing down and providing the pass, but Emakhu’s presence of mind to sniff out a possible chance paid off.
His part in Armstrong’s goal – one which looked like giving Ireland a crucial win to make it four from four and leave the top of the group ahead of the visit of Italy to Turner’s Cross on Tuesday – was equally impressive.
This time he was well positioned to win the flick on from Armstrong, the touch to control was instant, the assist for his friend’s goal precise.
“We’ve been playing football together for as long as I can remember,” Emakhu explained to RTÉ afterwards.
“It’s only now that we’re kind of separated at club level but we played together back in Ireland at Rovers, we played together for the school team.
“I know how he plays, I know how he wants to play, he knows how I want to play. He knows where I want the ball and I know where he wants the ball. It’s always kind of that brotherhood between us.”
Both emerged at different times with Rovers, Armstrong heading for Queens Park Rangers three years ago and now leading their line in the Championship.
Emakhu moved to Millwall last December and is still battling to establish himself at that level.
He’s already shown he has the fight in him to get this far, the short-term hope for Ireland is that he can now bring the U21s a step further by breaking the glass ceiling and qualifying for the European Championships for the first time.
