Rising Stars, Roaring Lions

Although Millwall had created 8 shots in the first half, they still couldn't break through Aston Villa's defense. At halftime, Aldrich returned to the locker room, clenched his fists, and waved them in front of his eyes, passionately rallying the team's morale.

"You've done great so far! But with just a little more effort, a little more determination, we can definitely score and bring home the win! Don't forget, since the FA Cup, you've all been fighting for Millwall. If we make it to the final, you'll be the biggest contributors!"

"Aston Villa is ranked seventh in the Premier League, and they fear you! Did you see that? They only dare to play on the counterattack, only dare to huddle in the back. When they attack, they only commit three players at most. They're scared of you, and we have nothing to fear! Don't put pressure on yourselves, I just need you to fight with all your might!"

...

Aldrich always appears before the young players with encouragement and motivation, which is completely different from dealing with the more seasoned first-team players. With the veterans, you can't expect them to be easily inspired by a few words, that's unrealistic. Players with drive will always be fired up, while those without it are impossible to lift, especially at their age—they've passed the stage where they can be easily swayed or inspired by words.

Under Aldrich's guidance, the players encouraged each other. As they proved themselves and improved, their friends and teammates on the field became indispensable in this journey. The healthy competition between them, as well as the unity and mutual support when fighting side by side, became key factors pushing them toward success.

Aston Villa held on in the first half, but their counterattacks lacked effectiveness. With fewer attacking options, their tactics of hitting the wings were easily read by Millwall. Neil, with his decent speed and aggressive defending, was able to either force the ball out of bounds or foul for a set piece, thus neutralizing Aston Villa's attacks.

On the rare occasions when Aston Villa managed to switch the play from the wings to the center, Barzagli and Metzelder didn't falter. They kept their cool in the face of minimal pressure, making calm decisions and working together to suppress the opponent's attacking threats.

At the start of the second half, Millwall kicked off, immediately launching a fast counter-attack, with midfielders pushing up and the wingers rapidly joining the attack.

Aston Villa was caught off guard.

After a quick one-two with Neal, Lampard carried the ball to the area just outside the box, around the 45-yard mark. He laid it off to the overlapping Ashley Cole on the flank, who delivered a pass to the cutting Gronkjaer.

Gronkjaer tried to beat his marker with a sharp turn but got tangled up with the defender. The ball was deflected slightly behind him, and as he was about to lose possession, someone charged in from behind, took control, and surged forward with a powerful stride, breaking through Aston Villa's final defensive line.

It was Larmore!

His exceptional reading of the game allowed him to anticipate the situation and move to support Gronkjaer. Initially, Larmore intended to play another one-two with him—Gronkjaer would pass it back, and Larmore would thread a through ball for Gronkjaer to break the offside trap. However, Gronkjaer opted to go solo. Yet, by sheer coincidence, Larmore's positioning turned out to be a threat in itself.

It may have been an unintended result, but it worked out well.

In a one-on-one situation, Larmore struck decisively, calmly choosing to place the ball to the side of the goalkeeper's body. Aston Villa's goalkeeper had already gone down, but he could only watch as the ball rolled under his arm and into the net.

"David Larmore's goal has put Millwall ahead! What a moment this is for the Lions. If they can keep their defense solid, they're on their way to the FA Cup final. It's impossible not to think back to last season, when the dream of a treble ended painfully in the Champions League. Will the fans be let down again? Let down? No, that's not fair—what they achieved with the league and FA Cup double was already extraordinary. But dreams are the heartbeat of football, and you can be sure the Lions' faithful are daring to hope for an even bigger miracle this year. Whatever happens, this team has already won their hearts."

Larmore, who has truly risen from the ashes this season, exploded with passion after scoring. He ripped off his shirt and charged towards the dugout, flinging himself at Aldrich in a joyous embrace before astonishing everyone by lifting the manager off his feet.

The players on the field surged forward, with Neil and Gronkjaer meeting in the center circle. They stood side by side, gazing at their teammates and coaches gathered on the sidelines.

Gronkjaer grinned, hands on his hips. "Feels like we've done this before."

"Of course, we have," Neil raised an eyebrow and smiled back.

After the celebration ended, Aldrich and the players formed a circle, standing together. He bent down, speaking with fiery conviction: "I knew we'd score! You guys can score! But what's most important now? The match isn't over yet. Aston Villa probably still thinks they have a chance, but they don't! You'll show them with your actions that fate is in our hands! Who's going to the final? Who? Tell me loud and clear!"

"Millwall!"

"Millwall!"

"Millwall!"

Aldrich clapped enthusiastically, joining in with clenched fists as the players headed back onto the pitch. His expression grew more determined, his eyes burning with intensity as though they could set the world alight.

The referee showed David Larmore a yellow card.

Aston Villa's players were seething, filled with frustration.

This was a bitter pill to swallow.

In the league, Aston Villa had never been able to challenge Millwall, not even for a second!

But in the cup competition, these two teams had built up quite a history together.

What was Millwall's first-ever trophy in club history?

The League Cup.

Who did they steal it from?

Aston Villa!

Normally, mid-to-lower-table Premier League teams were content with their league position, only hoping to get lucky in the cup competitions. That's why teams like Millwall, Chelsea, Leicester City, and Aston Villa often met in the cup matches.

The first five minutes and the last five minutes of both halves are the easiest times to concede goals. Players are either still settling in or letting their guard down. Aston Villa had fallen right into this trap, while Millwall had made it a point in training to capitalize on this, attacking aggressively if they kicked off the second half.

Of course, it all depended on the situation—away games were a different matter.

But today, on neutral ground, they were determined to exploit this weakness.

As Aston Villa saw their chance at a final spot slipping away, they became desperate, increasing their offensive efforts and stepping up their physical play.

In the 63rd minute of the second half, Joaquin was taken down after a fierce challenge. He'd tried to avoid the charging defender, even jumping to dodge, but got clipped mid-air and hit the ground awkwardly,resulting in a dislocated shoulder.

He sat on the pitch, his expression a mixture of pain and disappointment. Today had been one of his best performances—he was sharp, inventive, and created numerous chances from the wing. Yet, the challenge for skillful players in the Premier League remains the same: physicality.

No matter how talented, if they can't cope with the intensity of the game, they either falter under pressure or, like Joaquin today, succumb to injury.

The referee issued a yellow card to the player who fouled Joaquin, and Millwall was forced to make a substitution.

Aldrich called Joe Cole over, instructing him on his role after entering the match.

"Millwall's making a substitution. Joe Cole is coming on for Joaquin. This is a forced change, but it shows just how deep Millwall's talent pool is. Even when they have to make a substitution, they don't need to rely on their main players. Cole will take the left wing, Gronkjaer will move to the right, and with about half an hour left in the match, we'll see if this change will have an impact on Millwall."

As Aston Villa increased their attacking players compared to the first half, Millwall's two fullbacks had to scale back their offensive runs. This meant that, when attacking, the two wide players had to step up and create threats.

Gronkjaer found more space to work with. This wasn't due to the substitution, but rather the switch of flanks and the flow of the game.

The fullback on this side had just received a yellow card, so his defensive actions naturally had to be more cautious. At the same time, as Aston Villa pushed forward, the defensive space in the back widened, offering Gronkjaer, a pacey player, the opportunity to shine.

On the other side, Joe Cole repeatedly made threats with his excellent footwork and technical skills.

Although he wasn't a traditional winger or a player molded as a modern winger, Aldrich had given him clear offensive freedom in his role.

In the 79th minute, Gronkjaer drove the ball forward on the right, cut inside, and moved laterally. When there were no chances for a through ball or a long shot, he passed the ball to the middle.

Larmore was in position, but instead of receiving the ball, he made a clever run into the space in the middle. As Joe Cole collected the ball, he immediately made a perfectly timed through ball to Larmore, who was in almost the exact same position as he was when he scored earlier. But this time, Aston Villa's goalkeeper came off his line. Larmore didn't take the shot, but instead made a quick, decisive pass to the middle, where Klose was making a run. Klose slotted the ball into the empty net.

"2-0! Klose's goal seals the victory for Millwall! These young players are truly exhilarating to watch. We can firmly believe that Millwall has one of the best talent pools in European football for the next decade!"

After scoring, Klose smiled and pointed at Larmore, then ran to the sideline, arms outstretched, performing a beautiful somersault as part of his celebration.

"Little Carpenter", who had featured in every competition for Millwall this season, had statistics that were almost flawless: 14 goals and 9 assists. He was the top scorer in this season's FA Cup, but on the overall goal-scoring leaderboard, he wasn't number one. This was because, before Premier League clubs joined the FA Cup fray, lower league teams often played against each other in early rounds, with some matches ending in overwhelming scorelines. A striker from League Two, for instance, scored five goals in one match, and although his team was knocked out in the round of 16, he ended up with 11 goals.

Of course, the quality of goals scored against lower-tier teams wasn't comparable to the goals scored in later rounds.

Aston Villa's players were devastated, trailing by two goals with little time left.

In the final ten minutes, Aston Villa threw everything forward, hoping for a miracle.

But there was no team that had managed to pull off a two-goal comeback against Aldrich's side.

Today, it was no different.

After Klose's goal, Aldrich withdrew Larmore and brought on Pedretti to partner with Neil in defensive midfield, switching to a counter-attacking setup.

In the last five minutes, Millwall scored two more goals on the counter. Lampard and Joe Cole added to the tally, and the game ended 4-0.

Millwall had advanced to the FA Cup final, moving one step closer to the championship.