Mixed emotions for former Orlando City trio in latest round of Emirates FA Cup | OneFootball

It was mixed emotions for the trio of former Orlando City attackers involved in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup this past weekend.

Two of our former draft picks turned international exports took to the stage on Saturday afternoon as Cyle Larin's Southampton hosted Leicester City and Daryl Dike's West Bromwich Albion travelled to face Norwich City, before John Rooney's giant-killing Macclesfield attempted to claim yet another Premier League-sized scalp as they welcomed Brentford on Monday night.

Let's take a look at how all three fared:

Larin's second in seven days helps Saints into fifth round

It hasn't taken long at all for Orlando's long-time record goalscorer to adjust to life in England, netting his second goal in the space of week as his new club defeated Leicester after extra time to earn themselves a trip to Fulham in the next round of the competition.

Larin's cool finish from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time was cancelled out by Oliver Skipp's outrageous bicycle kick soon after the break, but James Bree was on hand to nod home in the 109th minute as Southampton got the better of their opponents for the second time in just five days.

The 30-year-old only arrived on the South Coast at the beginning of the month, agreeing a loan deal from parent club Real Mallorca after initially being recalled from Dutch giants Feyenoord.

With Orlando looking dangerously light on options in attack, I jokingly suggested that we should've made securing his return this winter an absolute priority. Unfortunately, though, his debut goal against Watford last week made it pretty obvious that we never stood a chance.

If Larin is able to replicate his early form throughout the remainder of the season, then Southampton will surely be left with no choice but to activate their buy option and make the move a permanent one.

Disappointment for Dike (but delight for me)

The second of our draft picks to explode in Orlando and earn himself a dream move to Europe hasn't enjoyed such stellar goalscoring form of late thanks to years of recurring injury issues and recent off-field instability at The Hawthorns, and things didn't get much better on Saturday as defeat at Carrow Road quickly put an end to any hopes of a cup run relieving ever-growing fears of relegation from the Sky Bet Championship.

Dike spent the afternoon watching on from the substitutes' bench as late goals from Ben Chrisene and Mohamed Touré decided this cup tie, not long after Josh Maja's dinked finish had briefly got Eric Ramsay's men back on level terms.

The 25-year-old's loss, though, was my gain, as Norwich reached the fifth round of the competition for only the fourth time since I began supporting them aged six. I do wish that our progression hadn't come at the expense of one of my favourite players to ever wear our purple jersey, but I truly believe that he's still got the talent to match the mental resilience he's shown over the last couple of years to help rescue his club from relegation and rediscover the sort of form that made him such hot property in Orlando half a decade ago.

Rooney's remarkable run ends with spirited defeat

Sixth-tier Macclesfield may have been knocked out of the competition last night after defeat to Brentford, but yet another spirited display against top-flight opposition certainly earned them even more admirers.

Our former attacking midfielder's side were in search of yet another scalp after they famously dumped out Crystal Palace last month, and such a result was still very much on the cards until Sam Heathcote inadvertently directed Aaron Hickey's cross into the back of his own net in the 70th minute.

"He spoke really highly of us and the club, said that they've taken us really seriously, and they've prepared for this game like they would for a Premier League side," said Rooney of his opposite number, Keith Andrews, who was spotted by television cameras inside the Macclesfield dressing room after full time congratulating his opponents on their historic run.

"I just touched on it with the lads when he left, that's a Premier League manager saying that to you," the 35-year-old continued. "That shows what you've done in this last couple of months."

Helping himself to four goals and three assists during his single season in Orlando all the way back in 2012, Rooney only began his managerial career in the summer when Robbie Savage left Moss Rose for Forest Green Rovers. Currently occupying the final play-off spot in the Enterprise National League North, his side look well-placed to fight for promotion come the end of the season.