It was a Norwich City defeat – made in Norwich – and a day Tom Ademeyi will never forget.
The boyhood Canaries fan and former season ticket holder-turned-professional never got a proper chance to show his talents for the City first team.
So he took his chance on Saturday as the Championship’s bottom side – one cut adrift at that – beat their more illustrious visitors.
Adeyemi made the first goal and headed home the eventual winner as Rotherham United, managed by another Norwich man in Paul Warne, clocked just their fourth win of the entire campaign.
“Warney’s been building this one up for a little while – after me, he was probably the most excited person out there,” beamed Adeyemi, having already grabbed the shirt of former team-mate Wes Hoolahan as a souvenir.
“It was really pleasing to get a result against them and with all my family from Norwich and a few of them up to watch, it was an extra special day for me.
“Quite a lot of my mates are still seasons ticket holders. My dad and my grandad still are as well, so it’ll be mixed emotions for them because I think they want to watch Premier League football next season. But no, it was obviously a good day and one I’ll always remember.
“To be honest, it’s difficult to see why they’re in the position they are because there is a lot of quality out there and take Nelson Oliveira’s sending off out of it, maybe it could’ve been a different game.
“We defended really well at times, we rode our luck a little bit with the block on the line in the first half and stuff like that.
“Obviously it’s hard to see why Norwich aren’t flying but when you look at the table, they’re still not a million miles off the play-offs so there’s no reason why they can’t try to get in there – and as everyone in Norwich knows, if you get in there then you never know what can happen.”
The 25-year-old midfielder is in good goalscoring form – and can rattle off the statistics to prove it – but for once, he notching a goal that counted for more than simply a consolation.
“At last it was a goal I could actually celebrate rather than one to try to bring us back into a game,” he said.
“I think since Warney has come in he’s recognised I’ve got that in me and given me a bit more licence to do it. Over the course of my career my goal record isn’t brilliant, but that’s mainly because I’ve been playing in deeper positions.
“It’s definitely something I’m aware I have in my game and it’s nice I’ve been able to put a little run together now. That’s four in my last nine games and I’m happy with that.”
Ademeyi added: “Of course we didn’t get too carried away because we know the position we’re in and we know we’ve still got a lot of hard work to do if we’re going to get anywhere near resolving it.
“Nine points (adrift) – it’s still three wins, and that’s with other teams not picking up points. So we’re still in a desperate situation but after a win, it gives you that bit of belief you can do something.
“Newcastle away (next weekend) is going to be a very tough game but if we take the intensity from this then there’s no reason why we can’t get something and then after that, we head into a run of games that we’ll believe we can really put a run together. We’re not going to give up and we believe we can get out of it.”
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