Meet Boreham Wood's hero who worked on building site and shapes game on Alves

The magic of the FA Cup has been on the wane in recent years - but that hasn't prevented the world's most famous competition from conjuring up yet another fairytale this season.

Like so many non-league sides before them, Boreham Wood have left the nation bewitched with their stunning run to the fifth round.

The National League outfit have already blown away AFC Wimbledon and Bournemouth to book a dream date against Everton.

While the FA Cup has regularly thrown up David vs Goliath battles down the years, it's a new experience for Boreham Wood's star man Jacob Mendy.

And he's revelling in the fairytale run that has seen Boreham Wood thrust into the public eye.

"I'm only experiencing the magic of the FA Cup this season - I've never been this far before," Mendy tells Mirror Football.

"Coming from another country, to know what this competition means, you need to experience it.

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"I've never had this feeling before; nothing compares to the experiences I've had this season coming from where I'm coming from how hard hard I've worked.

"To come this far and playing against Bournemouth and now Everton...it's like a trophy for me."

For Mendy, life has changed since that famous night on the south coast.

He revealed that he struggled to sleep the night after slaying Bournemouth and that his DM's have 'blown up' - with world renowned football journalist Guillem Balague even getting in touch for a chat.

But those sleepless nights are a far cry from the ones Mendy was enduring a year ago, where he was scrapping for survival at the foot of the National League with Wealdstone.

During his time at the semi-pro club, Mendy was also working on a construction site to make ends meet while chasing his dream of becoming a full-time footballer.

When you factor in that Mendy was also studying for a degree in Business Management, it paints an insight into the gruelling work that the 25-year-old has put in to achieve his dream of becoming a professional footballer; one that was finally realised when he was snapped up by Boreham Wood last summer.

"A year ago I didn't know where I was going. We were scrapping against relegation and our main goal was to stay in the division. I couldn't imagine that this year I'd be playing against Everton in the FA Cup."

Even before his starring role in Boreham Wood's iconic 1-0 win over Bournemouth, Mendy's story is one that perfectly embodies everything that the FA Cup is about.

At 17, Mendy spent a year in Atletico Madrid's academy after initially rebuffing their interest during his time in Spain.

That loyalty was rewarded after the Spanish giants returned for Mendy at the end of the season.

After his time in Spain came to an end, Mendy had spells at Shoreham, Redhill and Carshalton Athletic before his time at Wealdstone led to his big break with Boreham Wood.

Mendy turned down league interest to join the ambitious project at Meadow Park, with the Hertfordshire outfit currently vying for a historic promotion to the EFL.

The Wood are currently third in the National League, eight points behind leaders Stockport with three games in hand as a result of their FA Cup exploits - meaning they can effectively muscle their way to the summit of the standings if they win all three.

Luke Garrard is the man currently masterminding their bid to become a football league club for the first time.

And although Mendy has played as both a winger and a full-back during his career, it's Garrard who is responsible for nudging Mendy into the modern wing-back slot that he has thrived in for the non-leaguers this season.

While the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joao Cancelo who have made the position one of the most prominent in the Premier League with their swashbuckling style, Mendy credits an old-school name for inspiring his love of the position.

"Definitely Dani Alves. When I started playing as a full-back, that was when Dani Alves was at Barcelona in his prime. So I looked up to him and Eric Abidal, but I was more like Alves.

"I love going up and down, attacking and defending, doing both. I loved watching him play - he was such a smart player. He was the modern wing-back before it became a thing.

"I like being an outlet for the team. I look getting on the ball and driving past people to create chances but I love defending as well."

Boreham Wood have already made history during this year's stunning cup campaign - just reaching the fourth round of the cup was a feat that had never been achieved before by the club.

There's no doubt that promotion is still the main remit for a side that have punched above their weight all season - but that doesn't mean Everton will be getting off lightly.

"Our mentality hasn't changed. We're a team that takes things game by game, we just concentrate on the next team because that's the biggest game of the season so far. That approach has got us this far in both the league and the cup.

"We've got that belief. We know it'll be even harder, but you've still got to believe. We believe in ourselves, we are a really compact team, we defend properly and we're good on the counter-attack, so we believe we can hurt them."

Mendy is set to be roared on by 25 raucous family and friends at Goodison Park - double the amount that backed him at the Vitality Stadium.

The £20,000 fee that Boreham Wood shelled out to prise Mendy away from their National League rivals is a club record - but it's mere drop in the ocean to the expensively-assembled roster of superstars that Frank Lampard currently boasts; not that it deters Mendy.

He adds: "I'm the most expensive signing but my fee was nowhere near the sort of money they spend. I think my fee would maybe pay a weekly salary for some of their players!

"I'm looking forward to personally testing myself against a Premier League side with really good players.

"Playing against top players like Dele Alli, Theo Walcott and Richarlison will help me to see where my level is at. I want to test myself and see where I am because obviously I would love to play in the Premier League someday.

"It'll be interesting to see how defending against top players one v one will pan out. Playing against really, really good players can only help me improve at the end of the day.

"These type of things might only happen once in a football career - so whatever happens, I'm happy that I've got a story to share with my kids in the future."