Ememe’s heroics reward Mosta FC’s trust in youths

A second-half brace from young forward Chris Ememe spearheaded Mosta to a stunning 3-0 win over Birkirkara to earn the Blues their first three points of the season.

This victory followed the opening day’s 1-1 draw with Gudja United as Davor Filipovic’s side has now collected four points after their first two outings.

Heading into the 2020-21 campaign, Mosta were determined to make use of their academy products on the big stage – a club policy that may be deemed as a gamble but so far, Mosta’s decision has paid dividends.

Against Birkirkara, the Blues put up a disciplined performance whose prudent approach to the game enabled them to capitalise on the chances they created.

“I was actually over excited for having scored two goals against Birkirkara,” Ememe told the Times of Malta.

“Scoring against one of the biggest teams in Malta brings different feelings and emotions.”

Ememe’s performance against Birkirkara was the perfect certificate for this.
All it took for him to showcase himself was a couple of opportunistic chances to sink the Stripes without feeling the pressure of partnering the likes of Bojan Kaljevic and Kevin Tulimieri upfront.

In fact, Mosta’s blend of youth and experienced players which include skipper Tyrone Farrugia, former Malta international Clayton Failla and Mathias Muchardi, could turn out to be their wildcard to a positive season and securing their top-flight status as early as possible.

“Indeed, Mosta have a lot of young and experienced players in the squad,” Ememe said.

“It is actually working for us so far because everyone is helping each other, both in training sessions and on matchday.

“We young players always try to push harder while the veteran ones help us a lot in game management for example so we keep on learning new features about the game itself.”

Youth product

For this game, the Blues made use of five players who form part of the U-19’s team including forward Ememe.

The 19-year old Nigerian forward featured also against Gudja where Mosta had three debutants in Gianluca Sciberras and Watson Hounkpe alongside Ememe. In this game, six youth team players were also present. The results obtained with such players reflects the talent that Mosta boast in their academy.

Moreover, it also means that these youngsters can thrive in the Maltese top-flight if they are given enough time for trial and error in their early stages on the big stage.

Last season, Ememe finished top scorer for Mosta U-19’s and his offensive prowess was clearly visible in the Birkirkara game.

“I formed part of the U-19’s team last year, where I topped the scorers’ list as well,” the Nigerian forward said.

“Alongside me, there are other youth players who are also adapting to senior football quickly.

“I am glad that Mosta are giving their youth players a lot of playing time because it gives us more exposure while helping us to develop patiently.”

The 2001-born heaped praise on coach Filipovic for believing in the youths unlike what happened under previous management.

“This is all thanks to the new coach who is making it possible for us because he is believing in the youth product he has at his service,” Ememe pointed out.

“Last season’s coach did not want to use any youth players from the U-19s team, therefore I am really glad with the new management and looking forward to keep growing under his wing.”