The relief and joy in his celebration on Wednesday night said it all, as Ollie Watkins needed that goal in our win over Everton, as the Aston Villa frontman faces a battle to keep his place this season.
With nine goals and seven assists in 28 appearances across all competitions so far in this campaign, the 29-year-old is still having a productive season, and beyond the numbers, he is absolutely fundamental to the way Unai Emery prefers to play, and that’s reflected in the trust and faith the Villa boss continues to show in him.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Everton: Watkins decisive, influential figure class above
A late return in the summer after his international commitments and injury troubles that followed severely disrupted Watkins’ start to the season, as he was physically struggling to perform at the level that we expect, and demand, from him.
As the weeks have gone on, he’s managed to find consistency and improved conditioning and we know what we get from the Villa man in terms of commitment, work ethic and movement, but it still hasn’t been all smooth sailing, despite those tallies detailed above.
While Jhon Duran has been making a strong case for a more prominent role with 12 goals in 26 outings, which included a spell in the Villa XI at the expense of Watkins, the England international will have been feeling the pressure from his young teammate, and that’s a healthy strength to have in a squad looking to compete for major honours.
However, Watkins will be fully aware that he has missed some sitters this year, and he had a golden opportunity in the first half at Goodison Park to break the deadlock early on and put us in a commanding position.
His curled effort though went the wrong side of the post as he spurned the opening, and there was a sense that that could weigh heavily on him knowing that he’s missed great chances in recent weeks too.
Fortunately for him and the team, he was presented with another big opportunity after the half-time interval, and while question marks will be raised over Jordan Pickford’s goalkeeping, Watkins showed composure and a clinical edge to apply the finish after racing through on goal from Morgan Rogers’ through ball.
As he wheeled away towards the Villa supporters, the relief was etched all over his face, and it was clear how important that goal was for him both in terms of his confidence, but to just lighten that pressure that was building on him too.
With Duran back on the bench after serving his three-game suspension, Emery may well have been preparing to make a change not long after that, but Watkins pounced and took his chance, and ended up finishing the game as the match-winner.
The challenge for Watkins now is to string together a consistent run of goalscoring form, as on another night, Villa may well have been punished for being so wasteful in the opening 45 minutes.
This goal has to be an important moment and catalyst for him, as while it’s a luxury for Emery to have two top options to play up front when most other clubs are struggling to find one, it means little if Watkins isn’t scoring goals and not in good form, and so this was hopefully a turning point for the Villa forward as we look to produce a strong showing in the second half of the season.
