Goodison Park’s 12th man ideal boost in first home game

This weekend’s fixture against Watford will bring back some great personal memories for me from our match against the same opponents last season.

In that game at Goodison Park last December we were trailing 2-1, deep into injury time, when we were awarded a free kick around 25 yards from goal and I stepped up to curl a shot past the keeper, which helped us to earn a valuable point.

Of course, it was mixed emotions because I would have much preferred it to be a winner.

But netting my first goal for Everton, in front of our fantastic fans at Goodison, was a special moment in my career.

My memories of that moment are so vivid. I remember that Gylfi Sigurdsson was also stood over the ball. I looked at him and said: “I feel like I can score”. He said it was no problem, left it to me and as soon as I struck the ball, I knew it was bending inside the post!

Two of my four goals for Everton last season were free-kicks (the other against Burnley). For me, it’s a matter of practice - if you work hard on the training ground during the week, then you are more likely to score on a match day.

This weekend we will be looking for a better result than we had against Watford last season, as we aim to build on the nil-nil draw in our opening match against Crystal Palace a week ago. At Selhurst Park it was not the best result — we wanted to win the game - but we played well and created plenty of chances. Some days you convert those chances, some days you don’t.

When you look back at last season, we finished the season strongly, especially at Goodison, where we scored lots of goals and kept five consecutive clean sheets.

We played well against the biggest teams and it is important we carry that momentum into this new campaign. We achieved some great results, especially beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United in the final months of the season, so we have set the standard we must aspire to.

It has been three months since we last walked out at Goodison — a long time — so we are all looking forward to returning. This week you can see that everyone at the club is excited to be playing the first home match of the season. Goodison is an amazing place to play football, a place we want to make our fortress.

Over the summer months new players have joined Everton and they have all been welcomed into the squad.

I was in that position last year when I moved from Barcelona so I know all about the experience of settling into a new club.

Sometimes it’s not easy for players to adapt to a new culture and a different lifestyle and language if they have moved from abroad.

Some players settle quickly, and others take slightly longer. What we know for sure is the players who have joined the squad will all bring extra quality, and everyone is excited to be working together.

If we start the season well, I believe we can have a special year. We are feeling good and have worked incredibly hard during preseason to be ready for the Premier League.

Goodison is our home and we cannot wait to be back in front of our amazing, passionate fans and hopefully put down a marker for the rest of the season.

Lucas Digne is a left back for Everton FC.