Aidomo Emakhu: 'That’s what the best players in the world do and the level I’ve set for myself'
In the pursuit of the perfection Aidomo Emakhu craves, another goalscoring display for Ireland’s U21s against Latvia tomorrow would hasten the journey.
The Millwall striker, by being a former Shamrock Rovers teammate and neighbour of Sinclair Armstrong, has long been compared with Ireland’s newest senior international but the pair of teens can take slightly different routes to eventually forming Ireland’s strike partnership.
Both have played and scored in the Championship this season, deepening the pool of forwards between the ages of 18 and 23.
In a strange twist, some could interpret as serendipitous, it was the elevation of Armstrong from the U21s last month that created a gateway for his pal to clasp onto.
He duly delivered at Turner’s Cross by being sprung from the bench against Turkey to fire the winner in a come-from-behind 3-2 win.
A few days later, they swept aside San Marino 3-0 at the same venue, setting them up nicely for tomorrow’s first away assignment of the Euro qualifiers in the Baltics.
The duo from Clondalkin are reunited in Jim Crawford’s squad, with club form behind them to boost the Irish. Emakhu is no bolter, however, for as a 17-year-old scored the only goal of Rovers’ Europa Conference League win over Teuta Durrës.
“For me, it’s like I’m chasing perfection,” said the attacker, born in Dublin after his Nigerian parents emigrated to Ireland.
“It makes me always want to stay hungry, to stay achieving. I’m never satisfied and am my biggest critic. If I scored one goal, I think of the chance I missed because I should have had two.
“That’s what the best players in the world do and the level I’ve set for myself. That’s what I’m trying to reach.
“Football is always about the next game. Sometimes I look
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