Ollie Watkins' debut for England against San Marino proved to be a night of many firsts for the Newton Abbot-born Aston Villa striker.
The one-time Exeter City starlet entered the field in place of Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 63rd minute. With eight minutes left left-back Ben Chilwell worked the ball to West Ham's Jesse Lingard who found Manchester City's Phil Foden who, in turn, found Watkins who beat San Marino keeper Elia Benedettini with a low shot as England completed a handsome 5-0 victory - as they started out on the road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Not only did he mark his first appearance for the Three Lions with his maiden goal - joining an exclusive group of players who have scored on their England debut - but he also became the first South Devon born player to appear for England since Ralph Birkett in 1935. In addition to this, he also became the first former Exeter City player to feature for England since Cliff Bastin in 1938 and the first Devon born player to represent the Three Lions since Trevor Francis in 1986.
It was a night where club rivalries could be put to one side to admire what should surely rank as one of the great South West sporting success stories of all-time.
For those who have followed Watkins' career closely it was another milestone which ranked alongside his memorable brace for the Grecians in their 2-1 Devon derby win over Plymouth Argyle in April 2016, helping his previous club Brentford reach the Championship play-off final last season and his hat trick in Villa's 7-2 win over defending Premier League champions Liverpool in October last year.
On the face of it, Watkins' journey from South Devon schoolboy hopeful to England international might appear like the stuff dreams are made of, but that shouldn't deflect away from the hardwork and dedication that he has shown to progress from League Two to the game's elite level.
While other Exeter City youth products such as Matt Grimes and Ethan Ampadu were whisked away frm St James Park in their teens, Watkins was 21 when he left the Grecians to join Brentford in the summer of 2017 for a club record fee of £1.8million, with a 15% sell on clause which they cashed in on when former Bees manager Dean Smith took him to Villa Park in the summer of 2020. His appearance also earned Exeter a further £75,000. It also also worth remembering that earlier in his career Watkins had joined Weston Super Mare on loan in National League South in December 2014 - where he received his first taste of senior adult football.
The challenge now facing Watkins is to secure himself a place in England manager Gareth Southgate's squad for the delayed Euro 2020 finals this summer. With Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Keane and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford and Calvert-Lewin looking like certainties for Southgate's squad, he could yet his way into one of the remaining places in the Three Lions' forward roster.
His story is one that shouldn't just serve as an inspiration for the next generation of Exeter City academy products, who Grecians manager Matt Taylor will be hoping could turn out to be the 'next Ollie Watkins' - but even to young hopefuls at Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United. Players such as the Pilgrims' Wales Under-21 striker Luke Jephcott, goalkeeper Michael Cooper and midfielder Adam Randell - currently on loan at Plainmoor. The likes of Olaf Koszela, Louis Slough, JJ Evans and Owen Price who are harboring hopes of breaking into the Torquay United side - in fact any youngster in Devon who has dreams of making it as a footballer.
