By Our Man at the Cottage
THE MAGIC of the FA Cup nearly turned into a nightmare for Marco Silva, but his Premier League big guns fired just in time to blast Middlesbrough back to Teesside.
For 60 minutes, a “Cupset” was screaming from the Craven Cottage rafters.
Boro, flying high in the Championship, weren’t just holding their own—they were schooling a Fulham side that looked like they’d spent too much time admiring their own top-flight reflection.
Hayden Hackney silenced the home faithful on half an hour, coolly slotting home after Sam Silvera slalomed through the Fulham backline like an Olympic skier. At that moment, Silva—fuming in the stands due to a touchline ban—looked like he was ready to sub himself on.
But the Cottagers didn’t panic. They turned to the bench and unleashed the cavalry. On came Harry Wilson, and within four minutes, the Welsh wizard reminded everyone why he’s one of the cleanest strikers of a ball in the country.
He whipped a left-footed pearler into the bottom corner from 20 yards to level the scores and break Boro hearts.
Suddenly, the stars were aligned. Emile Smith Rowe, the man they call ‘The Croydon De Bruyne,’ stepped up to provide the killer blow.
With 13 minutes left on the clock, he ghosted into the box to finish a slick move involving Tom Cairney, burying his strike past Sol Brynn.
Boro wobbled, they hit the bar through Tommy Conway, and they missed a sitter via Morgan Whittaker, but the Premier League class eventually told.
In the dying seconds, the Brazilian sensation Kevin—who had been a thorn in Boro’s side all afternoon—finally got the goal his industrious play deserved.
He tapped in from a Wilson cross to make it 3-1 and put the gloss on a comeback that proved you can’t keep good stars down for long.
Fulham are through to the fourth round, but Boro can leave London with their heads held high. They had the stars in their eyes, but Fulham had the stars on the pitch.
