His latest chance to impress may have arrived as a left-back but Andrew Omobamidele hopes he did enough to remain in contention for a starting role, after ending Norwich City’s goal drought.
City boss Daniel Farke opted to play the 19-year-old central defender on the left as he changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation for the visit of Leeds and their dangerman on the right wing, Raphinha.
The Brazil international gave the academy product a thorough test, proving too hot to handle at points, but Omobamidele also won plenty of his duels with the speedy winger.
Raphinha came out on top ahead of the Leeds opener but Omobamidele had headed the equaliser before Rodrigo’s winner, earning him the man-of-the-match award and his name being chanted to the tune of the Conga by the Canaries fans.
“Personally, I think I’ve still got a long way to go, a lot to develop and to get used to the league,” said the youngster.
“But every time I go out, I will give 100 per cent, wherever the boss plays me.
“It’s great to hear some of the fans singing my name. It’s kind of surreal because two or three years ago I was up in the stands with them, watching the boys. To be a part of that now - hopefully it continues.”
It was only the 18th senior appearance of Omobamidele’s career, including his four international appearances for the Republic of Ireland, and his first experience at full-back.
“It took me a few minutes to get my positioning but once I did, I enjoyed it,” he continued.
“He (Raphinha) got his goal, he cut inside on my side. Me, I’m very self-critical, I’ll never point fingers at someone else.
“After they scored I kind of went over to the corner and thought I need to give a response, Milot (Rashica) put a good corner in and it went in, so it was a good moment.”
The teen’s first senior goal was the first City have scored directly from a set-piece in the top flight since Kenny McLean headed in a corner during the epic 3-2 win over Manchester City in September 2019.
He added: “It’s something we really want to get better at, scoring from set-plays, because in the Premier League everything matters, you can win valuable points from set-plays.
“Going up there, especially after Leeds had just scored, I was just so determined to score. It was a good corner from Milot and I was just thankful to put it in.”
NCFC EXTRA: City defender downcast after ‘very special’ moment is wasted
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