Ex-Nigeria U17 invitee devastated he didn't score on full debut, says Derby County assistant boss

Published: March 06, 2022

Former Nigeria U17 invitee Malcolm Ebiowei was devastated he did not score on his full Championship debut for Derby County, according to Rams assistant boss Liam Rosenior.

The former Arsenal schoolboy had made five appearances off the bench in the second-tier before he was handed his full debut by Wayne Rooney in a 2-0 win over Barnsley at Pride Park on Saturday.

Ebiowei had a strong starting debut and a goal would have capped off a fine performance but his effort went inches wide as he attempted to bend the ball into the bottom corner on 58 minutes.

The attacking midfielder has been training with Derby's first team since January, a reward for his brilliant performances for the academy teams with ten goals in all competitions including hat-tricks against Leeds United and Chelsea U18s.

Ebiowei received a standing ovation from the Derby fans as he made way for Lee Buchanan in the 65th minute and was congratulated by Wayne Rooney and Rosenior.

In quotes relayed by DerbyshireLive, Rosenior said : "This sums him up - he was devastated he didn't score with that chance.

"I don't even think it was a chance, and it was really close, but he always wants more from himself.

"He always wants to stay out on the training pitch, he always wants to improve."

Ebiowei trained with the Golden Eaglets in Turkey and Abuja before being named in the country's provisional squad list for the 2019 Fifa U17 World Cup.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : dcfc.co.uk

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