Naismith: The chance came really quick after coming on
Steven Naismith was delighted to help his Everton team to beat a resolute Aston Villa team 2-1 after coming from a goal down. Naismith came on in the second half and scored fairly quickly after the change was made.
Naismith says that Everton gaffer Roberto Martinez told him to make himself busy and the quickness of his first chance surprised him.
“It was more like ‘be a presence’. We knew they had a pretty high line so you had to time your run to get into the box.
“I didn’t think I would get a chance that quick in the game but I was glad I did.
“It came through to me and I kind of watched the goalie plant his feet, so I knocked the ball past him.
“It’s always a harder thing going on as a sub and to get to the speed of the game, but fortunately for me I managed to get the early chance and put it away and from then on I thought we dominated.
“We played some good stuff and. although it took a world-class free-kick to win the game, I thought we created far more chances than in the first half.”
Following the defeat to Liverpool in the derby, Naismith said that all the team thought it was important to get back on track and get a win under their belt.
“Yeah, it was,” he said. “Losing heavily in a derby is never nice but you want to come back from that and also where we are in the league, you want to keep up with the teams at the top.
“Although it was pretty nervy in the first half, a few tactical changes helped and it opened us up so we played much better stuff. We’re still right in the mix.”
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