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Odejayi seeks help from above

Sun 06 Apr, 09:00 AM


Barnsley striker Kayode Odejayi is hoping all his family's prayers come true on Sunday when the Tykes go in search of more FA Cup glory.Odejayi was the unlikely hero against holders Chelsea in the quarter-finals, scoring the only goal of the game to spark wild celebrations at Oakwell.

The 26-year-old, who hails from a strictly religious Nigerian family, is expected to lead the line against Cardiff in the semi-final and is striving to end a difficult first season with the Championship strugglers on a high.

His family - including father Richard who is a Christian minister based in London - will be present at Wembley and, as ever, will be rooting for Odejayi to continue his recent renaissance.

"My family will be in church first and then come to the game afterwards," said Odejayi.

"My mum and dad are always praying for me, so I'm sure it won't be any different leading up to this game and hopefully I can give them something to shout about."

When Odejayi outjumped Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to head home from close range last month, it was only his second goal for the club since his summer switch from Cheltenham.

A poor goal return has meant the build up to Sunday's game has been slightly overshadowed on a personal level for Odejayi by media speculation regarding his future.

But Odejayi is desperate to remain at Oakwell and prove his worth in the Coca-Cola Championship after working his way up the Football League pyramid.

He added: "I'm happy here and Championship football is where I want to be.

"Hopefully next season the goal return will be a bit better than it has been this year.

"I just want to enjoy my football, score as many goals as I can for Barnsley and then anything else after that is just a bonus."

Reflecting on his goal heroics against Chelsea, Odejayi admitted: "It was a big moment for me.

"But I have to keep reiterating that it wasn't just about me. We were all heroes on the day and it was a massive day for everyone concerned with Barnsley.

"The focus is now back on the FA Cup and hopefully we can get a result on Sunday.

"You don't really need much motivation before an FA Cup semi-final and the players are all looking forward to it."

Odejayi is relishing the prospect of playing at Wembley and insists the magnitude of the occasion is not lost on Simon Davey's side, who also knocked out Liverpool earlier in the competition.

"It's probably going to the biggest game of a lot of the lads' careers and the fact it is at Wembley makes it that little bit extra special," he added.

"We've had a really good run so far in the FA Cup and hopefully come Sunday we can take it a little bit further.

"Reputation and form go out of the window in the FA Cup - as our last two results show - and playing Cardiff will be tough because they will already know a lot about us.

"But after beating Liverpool and Chelsea we can't fear anybody."

While the Tykes have embarked on a fairytale FA Cup run they also find themselves entrenched in a relegation battle.

But Odejayi is adamant the cup has not been an unwanted distraction and is confident the club can avoid the drop.

"I don't think the cup run has been a distraction," he said.

"Our home form is really good and that hasn't changed that much, it's just our away form which we need to sort out. But even after the Chelsea game we had a great 4-1 win over Ipswich and then after that I think we've just been a bit unlucky and nothing seems to be falling for us.

"I think we've been playing well enough to warrant something from recent games but we just haven't been getting the lucky breaks that we desere.

"Hopefully

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