It is no exaggeration to state that Andrew Omobamidele burst onto the international scene; sprung from the bench in the first half of an away World Cup qualifier, tasked with thwarting a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portuguese attack.
The young Leixlip lad, undaunted, stepped straight into the injured Dara O'Shea’s shoes and played his part in one of the most inspiring Ireland performances of the past three years.
Six days later in Dublin, Omobamidele was selected for his first start, and was again put in the firing line of a star-studded Serbian strike-force, and looked every inch like he belonged on the main stage, almost stealing the show late in the game with an audacious effort from 25 yards, which would have handed Ireland a victory against the eventual group winners.
Remarkably, Omobamidele has only gained five further caps since September 2021 with injury issues at Norwich leaving him sidelined for large chunks of the season, while a move to the Premier League at the start of this season has taken its time to bear fruit.
However, the 21-year-old has recently broken into the Nottingham Forest first team and is thriving under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo in recent weeks.
Now Omobamidele is back among his mates with the Ireland camp and is looking to start adding up the caps once again, and hoping to enjoy some game time against Belgium and Switzerland.
"It was difficult," said Omobamidele, when asked about the injury stopping him from enjoying the momentum of playing for Ireland as well as featuring for his club, Norwich, who were playing Premier League football at the time.
"I felt like it came at not the best time for me, because I felt I was really kicking on, but it happens.
"It was my first big injury that kind of set me back so, yeah, it makes you realise a lot of stuff that can happen in football and the way you need to deal with it.
"So you learn a lot about yourself in those times. It was tough but I’m just happy I’m back now and the injuries are behind me."
Similarly, Omobamidele has had plenty of time to ponder this season, after moving clubs and finding himself outside the starting XI.
However, he maintains that he stayed positive throughout, trusting the process, while bringing his best self to training every day knowing that his chance would eventually present itself.
"I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to at the start of my Forest career but there’s a process to everything and just at that time, I was working on myself, working on everything football wise, I was waiting for my opportunity and I’m grateful for it, Nuno has come in and given me that.
"I think it’s similar to what I said with the injuries, it’s football. I wanted to challenge myself.
"I know it’s not a case where you’re going to move teams and be first choice straight away. You have to earn your spot and I know that first hand.
"Everything I’ve had up until now, I’ve had to graft for it, and I know how that is. I enjoy it to be honest. It was challenging, the first five six months but I’m happy where I’m at.
"I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason, and my injuries are part of the game. My mentality is more excited to get back in, and hopefully get to a level, and better, as I was at previously. That's the way I am thinking right now."
And the ball-playing defender took real solace from those early days in the Ireland shirt and has been able to look back at those games to top up his confidence levels.
"It's massive," he said, when asked about the big performances for his country.
"Those kinds of moments do get you through the injuries, thinking back to my debut against Portugal, the Serbia game. It almost pushes you along a bit more, to think back on the big games you played and being around the lads."
FULL-TIME
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 7, 2021
🇮🇪 1-1 🇷🇸
A ferocious finish from Ireland almost saw Stephen Kenny's men steal the three points with a thumping Omobamidele strike
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Omobamidele is another who faces a relegation dogfight when he returns to club action with the added disappointment of a four-point deduction to deal with, which put Forest into the relegation zone at the start of the international window.
And while he admits that it helps being around his international team-mates, he also revealed how much he has been impressed with the new Ireland management team, and he is using their playing knowledge to help improve his own game.
"It’s tough yeah," he said, responding to the four-point penalty. "Especially getting news when we’re not together as a team.
"To be honest I haven’t had much time to think about it, a big game at the weekend, I’m here with the boys, trained yesterday and today, a long session today so I’m fully focused on this weekend.
"It's always good to be around the boys here, the lads, the staff, great lads, always good to get away."
"He's a legend," said Omobamidele, when asked about John O’Shea’s influence. "Just to have him there, for the likes of me as a centre-half, I know I can bounce a few things off him, like I said he can relate to us because he’s been there and done it."
Follow a live blog on Republic of Ireland v Belgium this Saturday from 5pm on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
