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Omobamidele was making his first Premier League start at Carrow Road, and second this season. PA
mixed emotions

First Premier League goal 'a bittersweet moment' for Irish international Omobamidele

‘It is a proud moment, but obviously it is disappointing with the result at the end of it,’ the Norwich defender said.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND international Andrew Omobamidele says his first Premier League goal was “a bittersweet moment” after Norwich fell to another defeat.

The Canaries’ nightmare return to the top flight continued yesterday with a 2-1 home loss to Leeds, meaning 20 league games without a win.

But it was a milestone day for Omobamidele, as the 19-year-old capped his first Premier League start at Carrow Road with a stunning goal.

The Leixlip man headed home Milot Rashica’s corner to level matters after 58 minutes, but it was cancelled out just two minutes later, and Leeds left with all three points.

“It is a bittersweet moment,” Omobamidele, told canaries.co.uk afterwards.

“It is a moment that you can’t take away from me, especially because it is at home, in front of the Barclay Stand, to equalise against Leeds in the Premier League, on my second start.

“So it is a proud moment, but obviously it is disappointing with the result at the end of it.”

Sky Sports Football / YouTube

Clearly frustrated by the nature of the loss, the Irish teenager continued: “It was disappointing. I think we were on top for large periods of the first half and there was just a period where there were a lot of goals.

“They scored first, and then I scored, and then they scored again quickly and that is something that we need to improve on. You are most vulnerable when you have just scored, so I think for just those couple of minutes we needed to stand tall and stand strong, because in the Premier League you can’t really have those couple of minutes, maybe you would have had in the Championship, to relax and get your breath.

“It is very frustrating for any team if you have just scored to level and then they score, but I thought the lads fought hard and it was a good collective team performance. We just need to assess it tomorrow and then put our focus on Brentford.”

Generally a centre-half, Omobamidele was deployed at left-back by manager Daniel Farke: “It is a new position for me but whether the boss puts me I am going to try and give 100%.”

And Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports after the game: “I was a bit critical of Omobamidele at halftime because I thought he could have done more against [Raphinha], but I was pleased for him when he scored this goal.

“It was a tough game for him, really tough because he’s normally a centre back. This is a brilliant leap and a great header, he wants to win the ball and shows tremendous desire.

“I think from his point of view, go and look at the video now. Look at what it takes and the strengths and weaknesses, how to get better as a player.

“He has obviously showed that he has got that desire. He showed a lot of quality and stuck at it, but it was a really hard game for him today.”

BTL 5

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