Antoine Semenyo's first senior start came in front of fewer than 400 people. Tonight, he will run out in front of 64,000 at a World Cup. Semenyo is a leading light for Ghana and will be their main attacking hope when the Black Stars take on England in a crucial group stage match in Boston tonight (9pm). A win for either side will ensure top spot in Group L and a place in the knockout stages.
From Rejection to Stardom
England will start as heavy favourites, particularly after an impressive 4-2 win over Croatia, while Ghana laboured to a late 1-0 victory against Panama. However, Semenyo himself is proof of success against the odds. The 26-year-old was rejected by several clubs multiple times as a youngster and stopped playing for a year at 15. He returned to the game through college football rather than the academy system.
That path earned him a trial and then a contract at Bristol City at 18. The Robins loaned him to Bath City in the National League South. His manager for that four-month spell was Jerry Gill, who handed him his first senior start in a Somerset Premier Cup tie against Welton Rovers. The teenager responded with a hat-trick and scored six times in nine appearances for Bath.
Jerry Gill's Perspective
"I threw him in and he scored a hat-trick and that was the trigger really," said Gill, speaking to the Manchester Evening News. "We gave him an opportunity, and the rest is history. He was feared by a lot of defences and made a massive contribution. It was all down to him, he had to come in and hit the ground running."
Gill added: "He was so refreshing because you don't get that physical attribute with an academy player and that was what he had." Semenyo was so physical he was sent off during his loan spell at Twerton Park and had no qualms about battling with hardened non-league centre halves.
"Even then he would bump centre backs and put them on the floor," recalls Gill. "If the ball was up in the air between him and the centre-back, he'd look at the centre back first and he'd bump him on the floor and get him out of the way. It was never anything malicious. It was just at that time he was working out how to use his body."
Semenyo's Own Words
Semenyo himself referenced this when speaking to the All Out Football Podcast earlier this year. "When I went to Bath, players are playing for mortgages, they need to pay bills and they need wins. It was tough at the start, I was getting red carded, pushed around, elbows flying," he said. "Gradually I got used to it and started performing."
Semenyo was recommended to Bath by former professional Dave Hockaday, who had coached him for South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. Gill watched him play twice for Bristol City's academy sides and saw enough to take him on loan. While impressed by Semenyo's raw talent, it was his attitude and application that set him apart.
Work Ethic and Character
"We trained Tuesday and Thursday nights but he would train in the day at Bristol City and then train with us on those nights," said Gill. "I've had some loan players that they'll come and go 'oh it's a bit cold on a Tuesday night, I've trained today, this is a bit like hard work'. But Antoine trained like a Trojan."
"Whenever he came in he had a lovely big smile on his face, he never moaned, never whinged, always got on with it. In fact we had to speak about managing his load at times with Bristol City to make sure we wouldn't overcook him because he would just do it without asking!"
"He took to the group, you get judged as soon as you come in as a young player by the senior players and he came and he wasn't brash, he wasn't a loud boy, he was quiet but as soon as he went out on the training ground that's what gave him the respect with the way he trained and then suddenly his ability comes through. He was loved by all the staff and the fans. He's just a lovely, lovely lad who's getting the success he deserves."
A Special Moment
Gill admits he didn't see Semenyo turning out for one of the biggest clubs in European football, but felt there was a player who could progress to the top level. While there was no stunning backheel goal at Bath like at Wembley – "the cross would have bobbled to him on our pitch" joked Gill – there was a moment that cemented a teenage Semenyo as a player with a big future.
"So I always kill this lad called Robbie Cundy, who I ended up signing and then selling to Bristol City actually for good money and he is now at Cheltenham and is a good player," said Gill. "So he was playing for Gloucester City and a ball went up in the air and Antoine looks at Robbie, Robbie looks at Antoine and Antoine just bumped him and stuck him on his a***. Then he took a touch and drilled the ball in the bottom corner with his left foot."
"That is when I was like 'yeah this is it'. Firstly, to bump a centre back who is six foot two, and then have the composure, the skill and the ability to go and finish it. That was the moment where I thought 'yeah, this boy has got something special'."
Semenyo has showed just how special he can be since joining City and is now leading his country's charge at the World Cup. It's a far cry from the Somerset Premier Cup.
