Theo Walcott’s beaming smile said it all as the forward reflected on scoring his first Southampton goal since returning to the club after 14 years away.
Walcott broke the deadlock in the second half at Wolves in another impressive Saints display that ultimately earned a point following Pedro Neto’s 75th-minute equaliser.
The 31-year-old made his senior debut for Saints against the same opposition back in August 2005, so he’s no stranger to celebrating personal milestones against the Midlands club.
“It was very nice – you can tell by my smile! It’s just a shame that there’s no fans here at this moment in time, but hopefully soon there can be,” he said of the goal – his first in Saints colours since January 2006.
“I was very pleased to get that goal. My first game was against Wolves, so it’s just funny how things happen in life, but a smile says enough for me.
“It feels more like a win really – it’s a very difficult place to come and get a result and not many teams will get a result here.
“They’re a very good team and they tend to get stronger as the game goes on. With people like Adama Traoré in the team, they’re always going to be a threat on the counter as well.
“We dug deep towards the end there, but it probably does feel like a win. I know that’s a bit of a weird thing to say, but it’s not an easy place to come.
“We showed today that we can keep going until the end, work hard and everybody will be pleased with that today.”
Walcott did have the chance to double his tally 10 minutes after firing Saints in front, but dragged his shot wide after racing on to Ché Adams’s pass in behind the defence.
“I need to be scoring that – I know that,” he admitted. “I’m my best critic and I know that’s not good enough for me to score.
“Trust me, I’ll be practising next week, and I won’t let that happen again.”
Share this: