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Mike Off The Mark In Palace Draw
Written by Newcastle Utd
Mike Williamson spoke to nufc.co.uk after netting his first goal for United at the 139th time of asking
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
On Saturday, at the 139th time of asking, Mike Williamson finally found the back of the net in Newcastle United colours.
And while it looked as though the centre-back had snatched a late winner for the Magpies at St. James' Park on Saturday, opponents Crystal Palace levelled deep into seven minutes of stoppage time to secure a 3-3 draw.
So there were mixed emotions for the 30-year-old, who last found the back of the net as a Watford player, on 18th August, 2009, in a 4-2 win at Nottingham Forest.
Williamson prodded home from a couple of yards after Rolando Aarons' shot had struck the post and dropped at his feet.
Surely the simplest goal of his career?
"No, no - I had to take a touch!" joked Williamson.
"In reality, it was one of those which just fell and I reacted. I tapped it in. I didn't quite know what to do afterwards though, and I will have to watch Match of the Day later on to see what I did to celebrate.
"It was obviously great to score but ultimately it was disappointing that it wasn't the winner."
So will this effort open the floodgates for the defender, who has been on Tyneside since January 2010?
"Of course - I'll be expecting double figures this season now, maybe even 20!" he added.
"Seriously though, I should be chipping in more. My record at Wycombe and Watford was always around five or six goals a season, so it's been a frustrating four-and-a-half years here.
"Hopefully now I can try to chip in with a few more."
United fell behind with just 31 seconds on the clock, and got themselves level before conceding again early in the second half.
Another equaliser was followed by Williamson's goal but Wilfried Zaha netted in the 95th minute to secure a share of the spoils for the Eagles.
"It is very tough when you concede that early on," Williamson explained.
"You start the game with the enthusiasm and desire to try and impose yourself on it, and stick to the game plan.
"So when that happens it is a massive shock, but I thought we did well, even after conceding so early. We showed the spirit to stick to our game plan, pass the ball and keep going forward.
"We got our reward but it happened again in the second half, which is frustrating. But we got ourselves in front and showed a lot of character.
"When you're 3-2 up with two minutes to go you should see the game out, though, so it feels like two points dropped.
"However, we came from behind twice so showed good character to come back.
"It was just frustrating that we couldn't hang on."
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