Villa end 21-year St James’ Park hoodoo as Watkins seals statement win over Newcastle | OneFootball

Ollie Watkins has said that Aston Villa's 2-0 win at Newcastle was a 'big' result as the club ended a 17-game winless run at St James' Park.

Villa ended a 21-year wait to win at Newcastle with an impressivePremier League victory on Sunday. Emi Buendia fired the visitors in front with a stunning effort from distance, before Watkins wrapped up the win late on after heading in Lucas Digne's delivery.

Villa required Emi Martinez to make some superb saves at the other end, including a stop from Sando Tonali inside the opening seconds.

The win moves Unai Emery's team back level on points with second-placed Manchester City, and four behindPremier League leaders Arsenal, who take on Manchester United later on Sunday afternoon.

Watkins was delighted as Villa broke their duck at Newcastle, admitting St James' Park has been a 'really difficult place to come' for The Villans in recent years.

"It is a really difficult place to come and the momentum they get from their fans," Watkins said toSky Sports.

"I think we got the gameplan spot on today. We didn't play in front of them, we just played in behind and I don't think they were prepared for that. I feel like it was a strong performance from us and I think we could have won the game by a lot more.

"I've had some shocking performances here so it was nice to break the duck and perform individually and as a team. It is massive for us and it is a nice feeling. We had a bad result against Everton, so to bounce back and get three points on the road against Newcastle, it's big, so we're really happy."

Fellow goalscorer Buendia said Villa are determined to seal Champions League qualification. The win at Newcastle opened up a 10-point lead on fifth-placed Liverpool in the table.

"We have to look to be there and fight until the end. We know what we want to achieve, fighting for the Champions League spots. To score is always a nice feeling but the main thing is to help the team. To open the game with that kind of goal helps the momentum of the game turn in our favour. I am really happy and we deserved the three points"