Debutant Jonjoe Kenny has thanked the Goodison Park crowd for their part in his ‘dream come true’.
The 19-year-old was summoned from the home dugout 29 minutes into Sunday’s 3-0 win at Norwich City when fellow Academy graduate Matthew Pennington suffered a hamstring injury.
It was perhaps a surprise to be included in the matchday squad given Kenny had been on loan at Oxford United since January, only returning to Finch Farm once the League Two season had been wrapped up with promotion eight days before the game against the Canaries.
Then to get the call to come on in a Premier League contest may have been a bigger shock to the teenager, who was born in Kirkdale, just a short walk away from Goodison.
Yet having been at the Club since the age of nine, the versatile starlet proved he was ready and eager to grasp the opportunity with both hands.
“I’m over the moon,” he told evertontv. “It was a dream come true - it’s what I’ve been working towards ever since I came to Everton.
“When you come on and make your first tackle or pass and hear the crowd going for you, that helps you out and gets your confidence up. They really helped me out today and it was brilliant to be involved.”
Putting in a solid defensive display with strong tackles and not gifting Nathan Redmond an inch on the flank would have made for an excellent Blues bow itself.
However, Kenny showcased the attacking side of his game by racing to the byline on 48 minutes and putting in a cross for Kevin Mirallas to steer home for the Toffees’ third goal of the afternoon.
The England Under-19 international was evidently delighted with his display at the final whistle.
He added: “I’m happy with my performance, but we got the win and put a last performance on for the crowd so it was a good way to end the season.
“The assist was a bit of a bonus, really. Just to get on and make my debut was a dream come true, but I’m made up with anything else that came with it.
“The lads out there were brilliant for me. David Unsworth said to go and enjoy it. I don’t think I could ask for much more from my debut - playing in front of the crowd at home. You don’t really need to be told what to do. You do a job for the lads, hopefully getting the result and that’s what we did.”
A whirlwind end to the season may have given Kenny a lot to reflect on over the summer, but there won’t be too much time to look back on recent events.
Along with fellow Blues Ryan Ledson and Callum Connolly, who have both previously earned first-team opportunities, the former Everton Under-21s captain will fly out to Mexico with England Under-19s at the end of May for two friendlies before July’s Euro Finals in Germany.
And then comes the small matter of impressing in pre-season all over again.
Kenny continued: “I’ve had been ups and downs but it has been a brilliant year for me - getting promoted and being at Wembley in the Johnstones Paint Trophy with Oxford -and now to make my debut is a dream come true.
“I’ve had a great season and enjoyed it, but it’s time to kick on now and go again next season.”
