OLLIE WATKINS and the nation went crazy after his winner against Holland.
But it could not have been more different to the reaction to his first goal for non-league side Weston-super-Mare ten years ago.
Playing at Ebbsfleet in the Conference South, the then-teenager netted the only goal of the game in front of a solitary away fan and then celebrated with a half-baked potato and some beans out of a tin.
That humble beginning underlines just what an amazing a journey the Aston Villa striker has been on as he goes into Sunday’s final against Spain.
Watkins labelled the 1-0 victory at Stonebridge Road as his standout non-league memory and recalled: “I scored and ran off, pulling my shirt up and there was one fan in the away end.
“That was my first goal for Weston. Ebbsfleet had a really big budget at the time and we were fighting to stay up.
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“We had a long bus journey. JR was the kitman — bless him, he’s passed away now — and he used to make us potato and beans and cheese on the bus. It’s definitely very different to the semi-final. Him making us meals on the bus, we got a half-cooked potato with some beans out the tin — we were on rations!
“I remember one lad who turned up to the bus and he had paint all over his hands because he had just been painting before we travelled to a game. That was his main job. It was really good times.”
Watkins’ lethal strike against the Dutch went down as one of England’s greatest goals from the moment it hit the back of the net at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.
Yet many fans were surprised Gareth Southgate turned to the 28-year-old Villa man rather than Ivan Toney when subbing off Harry Kane at 1-1.
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That was because Toney, 28, had made such a devastating impact in the previous two knockout games.
Against Slovakia in the last 16, the Brentford man teed up Kane’s winner in extra-time, which had been forced by Jude Bellingham’s extraordinary 95th-minute bicycle kick.
Inside humble Ollie Watkins’ remarkable rise from non-league to England’s Euro 2024 hero
NINE summers ago Ollie Watkins went on a lads’ holiday after helping to save Conference South side Weston-Super-Mare from relegation, writes Dan King.
Now he’s just fired England into the Euro 2024 final with a sensational 90th-minute winner.
And even helped Aston Villa qualify for the Champions League last season.
Watkins arrived on the Somerset coast as a teenaged striker on loan from League Two Exeter in December 2014.
His 10 goals in 24 league games were a big factor in stopping Weston from slipping into the sixth tier for the first time in their history – and in giving them something to celebrate on a post-season trip to Spain.
But it was also his workrate and attitude that earned him the respect of the dressing room, and helped him take the first significant steps on the road to stardom.
Ryan Northmore, boss of Weston at the time, said: “His goals saved the club from relegation. But he contributed much more than his goals, which is really important when you’re scrapping away for your lives.
“He wasn’t just sat at the top of the pitch waiting for the ball to come. He would roll his sleeves up and get involved in all aspects of the game.”
Days after joining, Watkins made an instant impact with an equaliser against Farnborough.
Team-mate Tom Jordan said: “He always struck me as the kind of lad who had his eyes wide open to different aspects of the game.
“Sometimes you would have loan lads come in from a League club to non-League and they would be looking at you like they were doing you a favour.
“His attitude was very different. He was coming in thinking, ‘I’m going to learn from this experience’.”
It was during Watkins’ spell at Weston that the then Walsall boss Dean Smith spotted him.
Smith would later take the striker to Brentford and bring him to Villa, where he has reached new levels under current boss Unai Emery.
But Watkins has never forgotten the part that Weston played in his rise to the top.
One of his Villa shirts is on display there, he has spoken to young players coming through and happily tells the local press how important and enjoyable his time at the club was.
And he even helped fund an end-of-season boys’ trip to Spain due to his fines for being late – although he was allowed to join the rest of the squad.
Read all about Ollie Watkins’ incredible rise in full…
Toney then fired home that brazen no-look penalty in the shootout victory over Switzerland at the quarter-final stage.
Watkins could have been forgiven for worrying about the pecking order, having only featured for the last 20 minutes against Denmark in the group stage prior to his inspired Dutch cameo.
Yet he said: “I was saying against Slovakia, if I’m not coming on here then he needs to bring Ivan on because we’re going to go direct.
“He did — I thought it was going to be too late but then Jude pops up with the overhead kick, then Ivan sets up Harry Kane.
“There’s no bitterness whatsoever. I was so pleased for Ivan.
“There are certain times where it’s more suited for Ivan to go on the pitch if we’re going more direct.
“Then there’s certain times where it’s better for me, where the game’s more open and I can run in behind and affect the game in a different way.
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“We both have different attributes and I’m really glad the boss didn’t just choose one of us.
“That he brought all three of us because we’ve all had massive parts to play in this competition. It was a great decision to bring all three of us.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
