The FA Cup has an uncanny ability of creating lifelong memories, like the moment Coventry City and U.S. men’s international striker Haji Wright conjured on March 16 at Molineux.
It was the 10th minute of injury time in Coventry City’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Wolves, and the Sky Blues had one final opportunity to fashion a match-winning chance before extra time beckoned. Ellis Simms had scored their equalizer three minutes previous, in the 97th minute. The game was poised at 2-2, and the Coventry City away end was already a scene of sheer pandemonium as they sought one final chance.
“The game had been a whirlwind, back and forth,” Wright tells ESPN. “Every FA Cup game is like that. I hadn’t realized how much time had been given on top, so I was looking towards extra time, but I had a feeling there would be one more chance.”
Wright knew where he had to be — to the left of Wolves’ goal, about 15 yards out, like they’d practiced. “We’d been training all week on it, but it wasn’t working well for me in training, I wasn’t striking the ball how I wanted to,” Wright says. Jake Bidwell took the throw-in, Callum O’Hare managed to hold off the Wolves defender and found Simms with his back to goal. He cushioned the ball neatly to the waiting Wright.
“It was muscle memory,” he says. “As soon as I [took the] shot, I could tell it was going in.”
As the ball flew past Wolves goalkeeper José Sá, Wright’s first fleeting feeling was relief. Then the place went berserk.
“I was just looking to go celebrate with the fans,” Wright says. The second-division Championship side had just knocked out the Premier League mainstays.
