Mildenhall Town's new signing Cameron Watson settles derby against Newmarket Town with only goal of the game

As far as full debuts go, they do not get much better than the one Cameron Watson enjoyed in Mildenhall Town colours last weekend.

The defender, who came off the bench in the 1-1 draw at Ely City earlier this month, was included in the starting line-up for the first time ahead of Saturday’s Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division clash at home against Newmarket Town.

And not only did he help to keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory for his new side, Watson was also the match winner with a 27th-minute header that got the better of Alex Archer in the visitors’ goal.

“It was the dream scenario in a lot of ways,” said Watson. “It couldn’t have really gone any better.

“I was a little bit nervous beforehand. I’m fairly new to the league but I knew there was a lot of good sides in it.

“Newmarket are one of those and I knew it would be a tough game, but from a personal and team point of view it was pretty much the perfect afternoon.”

The 27-year-old arrived at The Riverside Stadium from Essex Senior Football League Premier Division outfit Saffron Walden Town.

News of his departure captured the attention of numerous clubs, but after holding talks with Mildenhall boss Phil Weavers, a link up with Mildenhall quickly came to fruition.

“I was sad to leave Walden. They’re a great club with a great group of lads and lots of good people behind the scenes,” he said. “The fans were brilliant with me as well but it just felt like the right time to move.

“I joined when Jason Maher was the manager and after he left, a new manager came in and then players start to come and go.

“My playing time was becoming less and less so for both parties it was best I moved on. I’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for the club.

“The week after I left was a bit manic. I think I underestimated the power of Twitter because after I announced I was a free agent it sort of blew up.

“A page on there called Non League Guys really helped me to branch out to clubs who I thought wouldn’t be interested and then after speaking with Weaves, his approach and the club’s ambition really appealed to me.

“I spoke to Casey Phillips and Jarid Robson who I played with at Haverhill Borough. They’ve both been at Mildenhall and only had go things to say so it went from there.”

And while he has primarily been recruited to add some defensive stability, he is hopeful that there may also be a few more goals to come.

“(Scoring goals) is definitely something I’ve tried to work on in recent years,” he added.

“When I was younger I didn’t score many but it’s tough when you’re young and transitioning into the men’s game.

“I’m older now, it’s something I’ve worked on and I’d like to think I can contribute some more goals.”

On Tuesday, Watson was on target again in Mildenhall’s 3-2 home victory over Sheringham.

The centre-back scored his side’s opening goal of the evening, with skipper Luke Butcher and Kieran Twinn also on target as Mildenhall moved up to fourth place in the standings.

Mildenhall are at home again on Saturday against Harleston Town (3pm) before they play host to higher-league AFC Sudbury in the Suffolk Premier Cup on Tuesday (7.45pm).