IT HAS BEEN a night to remember for former Limerick and Cork City youngster Chiedozie Ogbene.
The young winger was handed a debut in the Championship this evening and made a swift impact.
After replacing Ollie Watkins in the 67th minute, Ogbene won the corner from which Henrik Dalsgaard scored the winner in Brentford’s 1-0 victory away to Nottingham Forest.
Ogbene only signed for the Bees from Limerick for an undisclosed fee last January, joining after an impressive season-long stint with Limerick in the League of Ireland, having originally risen through the ranks at Cork City.
The 20-year-old was born in Nigeria but moved to Cork in 2005, subsequently impressing in Gaelic football as well as soccer.
Explaining his thinking behind the substitutions tonight, manager Dean Smith told reporters: “The wingers had probably run their game. Sergi hasn’t played 90 minutes for a while and I didn’t think he’d last the 90 and I felt we could do with some fresh legs.
“We felt Emiliano would get overlaps with Henrik Dalsgaard. It gave Ollie a breather and let Cheo [Ogbene] open his legs as well.
“I’m guessing they’ve not seen too much of him. He’s come on and won the corner.
“It’s something we’ve worked on and getting Henrik free and scoring the header. It was a tight game and close to who deserved it.”
Ogbene’s progress will be of interest to Martin O’Neill, with the player eligible for both Ireland and Nigeria. Asked about this potential choice between the two countries in an interview with The42 in 2016, Ogbene said: “An opportunity hasn’t come my way yet but when it does I have a difficult decision to make.”
The winger was not the only player of Irish interest at the City Ground — Ireland international John Egan completed 90 minutes at the back, though Alan Judge was unavailable after suffering a tight hamstring.
Ogbene was also not the only ex-League of Ireland player to make his debut in England tonight, with another former Limerick youngster, Barry Cotter, catching the eye for Ipswich at right-back.
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