Devon boy scores a goal for the ages

Ollie Watkins. Pic from PPAUK

Reporter:

Tim Herbert

11 Jul 2024 8:19 AM

Ollie Watkins is the England hero after dramatic winner

There have been some memorable, iconic goals in the history of English football: David Platt v Belgium 1990, Alan Shearer v Netherlands 1996, Michael Owen v Argentina 1998.

We can now add the name of Ollie Watkins, the lad born in Torbay, schooled in Newton Abbot and Ashburton, and who learned his footy trade as a junior at Buckland Athletic, in the Academy at Exeter City and during a loan spell with Weston-super-Mare.

The moment of Watkins history arrived in the final minute of England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands when fellow substitute Cole Palmer played it into his darting run in the penalty area.

Watkins took a touch and reversed a superb finish back beyond the Dutch goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net. The local lad, with one swish of the right boot, sent a nation wild with joy.

And this time, we deserved it.

England have been the ultimate slow-burner in this tournament and manager Gareth Southgate has endured many critics, I’ve definitely been one of them, and most of it has been deserved.

We were poor in the group stages, fluked it against Slovakia, he waited too long to make subs against Switzerland and we scraped through on pens.

But against the Netherlands, facing an Orange wall in Dortmund, England finally turned up. We were the better side throughout the game, Phil Foden reminded us of his immense talent and Southgate made changes at the right time.

Well played England, well played Gareth Southgate, well played Devon boy Ollie Watkins.

Player Ratings

Jordan Pickford 8 – Another solid showing from England’s number one and had no chance with Holland’s cracking opener.

Bukayo Saka 7 – He didn’t hit the heights of Switzerland but remained a threat against Holland’s excellent left-back Nathan Ake.

Kyle Walker 7 – Defensively sound, made one huge tackle and probably his best display of the tournament.

John Stones 7.5 – Imperious in the centre of defence and finally started to bring the ball forward with some purpose.

Marc Guehi 7.5 – A revelation in the Euros and he was calmness personified once again.

Kieran Trippier 6.5 – Didn’t do anything wrong but his removal at half-time gave us the balance we have craved on the left side.

Declan Rice 6.5 – It sounds harsh but Rice has limitations as a CDM but you cannot fault his heart and work-rate.

Kobbie Mainoo 8 – What a player! He won’t get the plaudits of a Lamine Yamal but England have their own teenager with supreme talent.

Jude Bellingham 7 – Tremendous work ethic without getting huge rewards in forward areas.

Phil Foden 9 – The performance we have been wanting from our best technical footballer, Foden was by far the best player on the pitch in the first half.

Harry Kane 7.5 – We all know he has not been his best but there was never any doubt with the penalty.

Luke Shaw 7.5 – Half-time sub and another quality showing.

Cole Palmer 7.5 – Provided the assist for Watkins and a brilliant option from the bench.

Ollie Watkins 9 – The Devon boy won it for England and what a finish!

Gareth Southgate 9 – Fair play gaffer, you got it right!

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now

Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

ClearSky is an independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 5 regional newspapers and 5 digital sites.

ClearSky Digital Titles

ClearSky Print Titles