{"id":34771,"date":"2025-10-02T13:35:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T12:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/?p=34771"},"modified":"2025-10-02T13:35:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T12:35:18","slug":"mcginn-backs-watkins-to-silence-critics-after-scoring-in-villas-comeback-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/mcginn-backs-watkins-to-silence-critics-after-scoring-in-villas-comeback-win\/","title":{"rendered":"McGinn backs Watkins to silence critics after scoring in Villa\u2019s comeback win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aston Villa skipper John McGinn praised Ollie <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.co.uk\/player\/watkins-ollie\/rHnOkDD8\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Watkins<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> after the striker netted a goal. His first goal of the season in a 3-1 comeback victory over <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.co.uk\/team\/fulham\/69ZiU2Om\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fulham<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Villa had been struggling in front of goal, scoring just once in their first five Premier League games. When <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.co.uk\/player\/jimenez-raul\/ENwqg0Pd\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Raul Jimenez<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">headed Fulham in front early on, the pressure mounted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Relief came in the 37th minute as Lucas Digne slid a clever pass to Watkins. Watkins then darted between defenders and lifted the ball over Bernd Leno to level the match.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHe\u2019s had a lot of criticism in recent weeks but what he\u2019ll get from us as teammates and staff is love and support,\u201d McGinn said after the game.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHopefully that shuts a few people up. What he\u2019s given us over the years has been brilliant. He works tirelessly and when he gets the chance, you expect him to score.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">McGinn rifled Villa ahead four minutes into the second half, and Emiliano Buend\u00eda sealed the win soon after \u2013 Villa\u2019s first league victory of the season, moving them up to 16th with six points.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s not an easy place to play when the crowd\u2019s on your back, but when we have momentum. Villa Park is special,\u201d McGinn added. \u201cWhat a win and a huge show of character.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aston Villa skipper John McGinn praised Ollie Watkins after the striker netted a goal. His first goal of the season in a 3-1 comeback victory over Fulham on Sunday. Villa had been struggling in front of goal, scoring just once in their first five Premier League games. When Raul Jimenez headed Fulham in front early on, the pressure mounted. Relief came in the 37th minute as Lucas Digne slid a clever pass to Watkins. Watkins then darted between defenders and lifted the ball over Bernd Leno to level the match. \u201cHe\u2019s had a lot of criticism in recent weeks but what he\u2019ll get from us as teammates and staff is love and support,\u201d McGinn said after the game. \u201cHopefully that shuts a few people up. What he\u2019s given us over the years has been brilliant. He works tirelessly and when he gets the chance, you expect him to score.\u201d McGinn rifled Villa ahead four minutes into the second half, and Emiliano Buend\u00eda sealed the win soon after \u2013 Villa\u2019s first league victory of the season, moving them up to 16th with six points. \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy place to play when the crowd\u2019s on your back, but when we have momentum. Villa Park is special,\u201d McGinn added. \u201cWhat a win and a huge show of character.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[219,159],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-champions-league-football-news","category-football-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>McGinn backs Watkins to silence critics after scoring in Villa\u2019s comeback win - Matchplug Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"McGinn backs Watkins to end goal drought as Villa rally past Fulham in a 3-1 comeback victory over Fulham on Sunday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/mcginn-backs-watkins-to-silence-critics-after-scoring-in-villas-comeback-win\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"McGinn backs Watkins to silence critics after scoring in Villa\u2019s comeback win - 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