Rise of a Football God

(FA Cup!]

(3rd round fixture:)

>Fulham – Rotherham<

>Date: 5th January, 2024<Nôv(el)B\\jnn

…

Sam did not make Coach Marco Silva's starting XI, but he was not that discouraged though. This was because even bigger names in the Fulham FC squad did not make the coach's starting XI for the FA Cup game.

The likes of Raul Jimenez, Willian, Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and even Bernd Leno, the Fulham no. 1 goalkeeper were not in the starting XI, telling Sam that the coach had no intentions of playing with his strongest squad.

In hindsight, it made sense, Fulham was playing against a club from the lower divisions; the coach would want to rotate his team.

(Fulham FC starting XI:)

(M. Rodak: Goalkeeper)

(K. Tete: Right Back)

(T. Adarabioyo: Right Center Back)

(I. Diop: Left Center Back)

(T. Castagne: Left Back)

(H. Reed: Center Midfielder)

(S. Lukic: Center Midfielder)

(H. Wilson: Right Winger)

(A. Pereira: Center Attacking Midfielder)

(B. De Cordova-Reid: Left Winger)

(R. Muniz: Striker)

It was not Fulham FC's strongest lineup but it was still a strong team on paper compared to the starting XI from Rotherham.

For the next few days in the prelude to the game, Sam was not disappointed, even more motivated by the coach's decision as he put in more than 100% in every training session, always being the first player to report to training since he arrived.

And in every training session, he was consistently always among the best performing players, showing his ability in every game.

And with his performances, his teammates finally started opening up to him, recognizing his ability with the ball on his leg.

Sam was slowly building prominence in the squad with his displays and hard work during every training session. His hard work finally paid off a day to the game as Coach Marco Silva called him aside.

"You're doing well, Sam, keep it up. I didn't want to rush you into games, to observe you more first but I think I've observed enough".

"Sleep early today and get ready, tomorrow, you'll play".

Hearing that, Sam smiled with gratitude on his face. "Thank you, coach, you won't regret this decision".

"That is up to me," the coach stared at him. "You just do your thing".

"Yes coach".

He was still not in the starting XI but that little assurance from the coach was all that Sam needed to sleep well that night.

Returning home, he followed the coach's advice, sleeping early.

In the blink of an eye, he woke up, it was already a new day, the D-day.

Craven Cottage was filled to the brim with the home supporting fans as they came out in droves to support their club.

Once the players lined up on the pitch, the referee's whistle went off, kickstarting the game.

Since they were playing at home, the Fulham players had the advantage of home support against their opponents. Stacked against their already numerous advantages, they started the game on the front foot.

For the first few minutes of the game, Fulham FC dominated possession, pressing the lower division team but an early goal didn't come though.

Rotherham remained defensively disciplined, defending doggedly until they finally grew into the game, making the game even.

Both teams had their chances, probing with attacks and finally, Fulham was the one to open the scoring first in the 24th minute.

After Lukic won the ball back in midfield, he passed to Pereira, the Fulham attacking midfielder who immediately skipped past challenges with his mastery over spatial awareness, bombing down the Rotherham half.

When he was close to the 18-yard box, one of the Rotherham center backs came closing him down with malicious intent and this attacking midfielder finally passed to his left where the Fulham left winger, De Cordova-Reid lurked.

The pass was not perfect but the left winger reacted immediately, pouncing before the nearest Rotherham player could clear the ball.

De Cordova-Reid pushed the ball away from the outstretched leg of the Rotherham player, cut into the box 18 from the right, then took a look at goal before hitting a curled shot towards goal.

Wrapping the inside of his right leg around the ball, it flew high, rotating rapidly as it curled into the top right corner of the post, leaving the Rotherham goalkeeper ruing his luck since he came so close to pushing the ball out.

"Goal!" De Cordova-Reid pumped his fists in excitement before rushing towards the corner flag to celebrate.

In the 24th minute of the game, Fulham finally took the lead.

That goal seemed to embolden the Fulham players, making them even more confident as the momentum fully swung in their favor. Enjoy more content from empire

It was just the final touch remaining for the floodgates to open as Fulham became rampant, going on one attacking raid after the other, launching floods of attacks against the Rotherham defense line.

Despite Fulham's dominance throughout the first half though, especially in the final stages of the first half, they failed to extend their lead, going to halftime with the score line still 1-0 in their favor.

When second half started, Fulham resumed the game with the same momentum, dominating their opponents, only lacking the final touch to put the ball into the opposition net a second time.

De Cordova-Reid came close to doubling his goal tally this game a few times, but he just fell short at the last moment.

Muniz, the Fulham striker for this game also came close with half-chances, but the Rotherham goalkeeper was on top of his game.

At the 60th minute, Coach Marco Silva finally made a few changes, subbing De Cordova-Reid out of the game after an impressive performance so far.

Sam still had to wait for his turn though.

The game continued, the second half with no goals till the 75th minute when the Fulham manager, Marco Silva pulled the plug on his substitutions again.

This time, he made a triple change, taking off Muniz, the striker, Pereira, the attacking midfielder, and Wilson, the left winger.

Sam and Alex Iwobi were introduced into the game at the same time in the 75th minute, 15 minutes to the end of the game.

Sam jogged into the game with a slight smile on his face, only one thought was on his head. 'There's still time to make my mark'.