Young man who’s already been tested against the best
Callum Rowe is used to being thrown in at the deep end.
In January 2021 he was given 24 hours’ notice that he would be making his Aston Villa debut, the side he’d represented since the age of eight, in an FA Cup 3rd Round tie with Liverpool.
Playing left-back, he knew his direct opponent would be a certain Mo Salah.
“The players Liverpool had weren’t bad, were they?” laughed Rowe. “We were told it would be a full-strength side from Liverpool and we just said: “Really?”
“You didn’t really have time to process it. It was so surreal.
“I wasn’t really nervous. It didn’t hit me until after the game.
“I didn’t realise how many people would have seen it. I was getting messages from old school friends who I hadn’t spoken to for years.”
Rowe’s incisive through ball provided Louie Barry with a memorable first half equaliser at an empty Villa Park, but Liverpool predictably overpowered the side made up entirely of Under 23 and Academy players to win 4-1, with Salah netting the Reds’ fourth on 65 minutes.
The Leicester-born player labelled his assist as the best moment of his career so far and was more remarkable seeing as he’d only returned three months before after nearly a year out with a serious knee injury.
Within two weeks of his Villa bow, he went from FA Cup debutant to FA Trophy, swapping Salah for Stamford during a loan spell at Hereford where his debut was at the home of the Lincolnshire club. Despite ending with nine men, the Bulls won 2-0 to progress to the last 16, a stepping stone to the final.
“I’d not really had much experience playing men’s football,” said Rowe. “I was hoping this would help me become stronger and more robust.
“Another wave of Covid happened so I didn’t play any league games for them. The league was cancelled, we had to keep fit for the FA Trophy games. I was still training with Aston Villa alongside Hereford.
“We had a friendly not long before the final and unfortunately I picked up an injury so couldn’t play at Wembley, which was gutting.”
Hereford lost 3-1 to Hornchurch to end his spell there, and the same occurred with his parent club. After 13 years with the Villains, Rowe was released at the end of last season and opted to relocate to Devon and join League Two Exeter City.
“There were a few clubs interested but Exeter seemed the most keen,” he confirmed. “The setup there is good, they promote young players.
“The gaffer likes me, wants me to compete. Long-term the aim is to be a Football League player but playing on loan will help me and I hope I can help the team as well.”
His first loan spell was at Chippenham Town, making his second appearance against City’s conquerors Maidstone United in a 1-0 defeat at the Gallagher Stadium.
“It was short but sweet (at Chippenham),” said Rowe, who made four appearance for the Bluebirds. “It was just a loan to get my fitness up.
“I’d had Covid before that so it was just to get me to the level I need to be to compete for a place at Exeter.”
He’s now part of the Devon exiles at Bath with six of the first teamers based further in the bordering county.
“We have two car schools,” said Rowe. “I’m left taking it in turns with Ben (Seymour, fellow loan from Exeter), Jordan Dyer is in a full car now.
“I found my feet quicker knowing a few of the lads here. The gaffer is good as well.
“It feels like it’s more than a National League South team.”
Although it wasn’t quite on par with a debut against some of the world’s best, Rowe made the first of his three starts thus far for the Romans at Hampton & Richmond Borough, having not met his teammates beforehand.
It proved to be an awkward first date – a 4-0 defeat.
“The first game was a bad day at the office,” he admitted. “I came as a midfielder but Jerry asked if I could do a job as a left-back in the first game.
“I signed for Exeter as a left-back but the gaffer there (Matt Taylor) prefers me in midfield as well. I feel like that’s the direction I want to go in.
“On the following Saturday I feel like we grew into the Braintree game a lot more. We created a lot more opportunities and just need to stick them away now.
“We are a good team and play good football as shown at Maidstone. We just need to tighten up on our set-pieces.
“I feel like I’m improving in every game, getting stronger and fitter. I want to get better.
“The camp is happy. We know we’ve been playing well. We just need to get the results. I think we’ll be fine.”