Danilo Orsi is enjoying a very different FA Cup experience from his early career after playing in Grimsby’s giant kill streak.
Eight years ago Orsi, rooster breeders In the preliminary round, they lost 6-3 to Waltham Abbey to see their cup run come to an end before September arrives. He estimates that around 30 people came to watch.
In front of a sizable crowd at St Mary’s in Southampton on Wednesday stadiumThe 26-year-old directed the line Grimsby By recording the most famous cup wins in generations, eliminating the Premier League Saints and taking their first quarter-final spot since 1939.
Next up will be high-flyers. Brightonbut for a striker playing college football in the United States as recently as 2018, high-caliber opponents mean a chance to cause even greater upset.
Orsi, who earned his second of two penalties on the Mariners’ south coast for Gavan Holohan to speed up and score, did not follow the route familiar to his teammates and League Two peers.
“I’ve never had academy football experience,” he told the PA news agency. “I was just playing in the Sunday league, then I had the opportunity to play in America.
“In 2014, I was playing in the first qualifying round in front of almost no one. I can now say that I am a quarter-finalist. That’s what dreams are made of.”
His 1-0 penalty against the Saints in the 49th minute was so extraordinary that he didn’t see the prize coming. With the ball in the goalkeeper’s hand, defender Duje Caleta-Car inexplicably swung his arm behind Orsi, who fell to the ground.
The Croatian’s momentary frenzy was a fluke for the Marines. Holohan made a comeback within seconds of the game, and Grimsby was not about to miss the unexpected opportunity that fell into their lap.
“The second penalty was very strange,” Orsi said. “I thought maybe there would be a reservation or a farewell. I thought it was a little late, she tried to pretend she didn’t see me when she turned around, but in the video it’s clear she’s looking at me. I was so confused that I didn’t know what to expect.
“From their point of view it’s a stupid and cheap way to give a penalty. But when you play against a Premier League team, you take everything we can get. If that’s what they’re going to give us, we’ll take it.
“If you had to choose[an opponent]from the Premier League right now, I think we would. Southampton. But it’s also a high-end side.
“They have a defender (Caleta-Car) who has played 100 times for Marseille. They have Theo Walcott, James Ward-Prowse. Injured or not, you never think you have a chance.
“Unallowed goal (from Walcott) 10 minutes after the end of the game, that’s when I really thought it was, we’re going to do it. We got it.