Ferguson off the mark as Roma goes top
After more than a year without scoring at club level, Evan Ferguson needed a mere four minutes off the bench to finally announce himself at AS Roma, with his goal helping to fire his side to the top of the Serie A standings.
Roma led 1-0 at Cremonese when Ferguson appeared on the hour mark, and after Neil El Aynaoui's pass found the unmarked Irishman in the area, he calmly took a touch before guiding his shot round the keeper into the corner of the net.
"It's a beautiful moment that I'd been waiting for for a long time," Ferguson said. "There have been many ups and downs but now I want to make the most of this positive moment. I want to continue like this."
Ferguson's last club goal came in October 2024 for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, and his current loan move looked to be heading in much the same direction as his previous one.
Struggling for game time at Brighton, Ferguson joined West Ham United in February, but eight goalless appearances did little to restore confidence or silence critics.
Throughout his club struggles, Ferguson had continued to shine for Ireland, scoring five times since that last goal for Brighton, but an ankle injury ruled him out of the most recent international fixtures.
A week ago, Ferguson watched on from an Irish pub in Rome while Troy Parrott's hat-trick against Hungary booked Ireland a spot in the World Cup playoffs.
Ferguson missed Roma's last three games, and manager Gian Piero Gasperini was not about to risk him from the start against Cremonese.
"He has recovered from the ankle, but isn't completely well and there's still some pain," Gasperini said. "But he has great determination, a strong desire to play."
Ferguson, who had another goal ruled out late on in Roma's 3-1 win, showed that desire in spades and held his finger to his lips as he reeled away after scoring before getting mobbed by his teammates and the Roma substitutes.
"We are all happy for Ferguson, as he had been waiting for this a long time," Gasperini said.
Ferguson is the first Irishman to score in Serie A since Liam Brady for Inter Milan against Torino in 1985, and 40 years on, the 21 year-old will hope to repeat Brady's achievements in Italy where he won two league titles with Juventus.
