'Outstanding' Omobamidele: Irish teenager praised for stunning start to senior football career with Norwich

The 18-year-old was man of the match on his first start for Championship leaders Norwich City before another assured performance in Tuesday's 7-0 rout of Huddersfield Town

Norwich City's Andrew Omobamidele was man of the match on his first start for the Championship leaders in a 1-1 draw with Preston last Friday at Deepdale. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Irish teenager Andrew Omobamidele has been hailed for his "outstanding" start to life in senior footballer with Norwich City.

The 18-year-old from Leixlip was man of the match on his first start for the Championship leaders in a 1-1 draw with Preston last Friday, which he followed up with another assured performance in Tuesday's 7-0 rout of Huddersfield Town.

With Ben Gibson (ankle) ruled out for the rest of the season and Christoph Zimmermann (hamstring) to miss four to six weeks, Omobamidele is in position for a run of starts as Norwich close in on an immediate return to the Premier League.

His centre-back partner and club captain Grant Hanley was making his 100th Norwich appearance and joked that Omobamidele shouldn't expect 7-0s every week.

“He’d better not get used to that because it’s not like that every week in the Championship, as we know! 

“He’s been outstanding in the last couple of games - so composed as a young lad coming into the first team ready to take his opportunity. 

“He deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Manager Daniel Farke was happy with the clean sheet and goal-difference boost as Norwich stretched their lead over Watford to eight points with six games remaining. They need just five more points to secure promotion back to the Premier League.

“It was a team effort. We made the defender’s lives easier because we pressed with such intensity,” said Farke.

“Especially for centre-backs, it's always important to play without any mistakes and to be there when it counts, although you can watch for five or ten minutes without being that involved. To play without mistakes is not easy and it’s what Grant and Andrew have delivered.

“For Andrew, back-to-back really good performances for him and that we were able to return with a clean sheet is a great reward for them both and the whole team.”

Norwich's other emerging Irish talent Adam Idah continues to recover from hernia surgery. He has scored twice in 16 appearances, 15 off the bench, in an injury-disrupted season as he, too, closes in on a Championship winners medal.