Southampton loan ace Joe Rothwell has now given his verdict on the wonder goal he scored against Huddersfield Town.
Southampton dipped into the loan market to sign Joe Rothwell from Bournemouth in the January transfer window.
The 29-year-old arrived at St Mary’s in pursuit of regular first-team football after playing just 379 minutes across 11 Premier League appearances for the Cherries.
Rothwell has added an abundance of quality to Southampton’s midfield, particularly from the bench, as the imperious Stuart Armstrong continues his fine form.
In a season that hinges on huge moments, especially in the race for promotion, the former Blackburn Rovers man has delivered the goods when it has mattered most.
Southampton came dangerously close to dropping points at home to strugglers Huddersfield Town. Russell Martin’s men were 2-0 down at half-time and needed a moment of brilliance to spark a comeback.
That came from the right boot of Rothwell, who struck a stupendous volley into the top left corner to get the Saints back into the game just after the break.
It was a goal that deserved to be celebrated, regardless of the current score, but Rothwell instead ran straight back to the halfway line as Southampton were 2-1 down at that point.
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Joe Rothwell shares what Southampton teammates did after Huddersfield wonder goal
Rothwell hasn’t scored many goals across his career, netting just three times during his final two seasons at Ewood Park, so it was no surprise to see him rank that outrageous volley as the best he’s ever scored.
He told Sky Sports: “I’ve not scored that many so yeah, it was quite easy for that one to be the best. I knew as soon as it left my boot that it had a chance and as soon as I’d seen it going towards the corner and I didn’t even watch it go in, I just turned round and ran back.”
Running straight back to the halfway line was perhaps the correct decision from Rothwell given his side were 2-1 down and it proved to be the correct one as he scored the equaliser a minute later.
However, the midfielder has now revealed that his teammates were disappointed that he didn’t celebrate such an incredible goal.
“Obviously, we were getting beat at the time so the lads gave me a bit of stick about not celebrating the goal,” Rothwell said.
Regardless of whether his teammates were annoyed or not, that wonder volley against the Terriers could make all the difference come the end of the season.
Southampton need to realistically win their two games in hand to stand any chance of achieving automatic promotion as they are currently nine points behind second-place Leicester City.
If they do keep up with the relentless pace being set at the top of the Championship and break into the top two, they may look back at Rothwell’s goal as the turning point in their campaign.