Emmaisa Nzondo feels his first goal against Manchester City EDS on Tuesday night was the stuff of fantasies after making a stunning entrance onto the main stage.
After an hour had passed at Oakwell, the teenage striker, who had replaced Max Watters, soared to his highest point to head home fellow academy graduate Theo Chapman’s cross to give the Reds a 3-1 lead in our EFL Trophy group stage match.
It’s what you envision, he grinned. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to make my professional debut, but to also get a goal is exceptional, and I’m grateful to God no matter what I do. But it’s a huge honor to even get picked because not many kids my age can say that they’ve made their professional debut. It’s a fantastic feeling to be fair, and it’s even nicer to score a goal.
“I just wanted to get in touch and pray that everything works well! My emotions were all over the place when I saw it go in because I had assumed it would go over due to the way I had hit it.
“I just celebrated because I didn’t know what to do. It was even better to put it on the score sheet because it was my professional debut and first professional goal.
The fact that the 17-year-old could make his first senior appearance with some of his close friends, particularly Jonathan Bland, whose name was also added to our prestigious Alumni, made the occasion even more memorable for the young man.
There have been many players before Nzondo, many of whom have left their names in Barnsley annals, and there will be many more in the future, but Nzondo is now firmly a part of this Club’s rich history. He is player number 1421.
“Vimal had already made his debut, but for me to make my debut with Jono – we go back a long way when we played against one another for our old clubs – for us to come here and make our debuts together is surreal,” the teenager revealed.
“I achieved a lot with him last season, and to achieve this with him and to get a goal on my debut while he was there is even better.”
View the entire interview with Emmaisa on iFollow Barnsley.
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