The Middlesbrough loanee executed the dazzling acrobatic move to celebrate his first goal in his first league start for Queen of the South. And it proved to be the winner for the Doonhamers against Montrose.
The eye-catching celebration wasn’t just a surprise to the supporters but also Willis’ teammates as he kept them in the dark of his athletic abilities.
Willis said: “I kept my goal celebration from the lads because I wanted to surprise them.
“I was actually going to do it in training one day after I scored a good goal but I stopped myself as I wanted to save it for the main stage.
“It was my first league start and it was my first goal so I had to pull it out.
“It was great to score and all the emotion of the moment just erupted. Harry Cochrane jumped on my back and my legs just went.”
GET IN . . . Queens loanee Pharrell Willis celebrates with Harry Cochrane
Willis revealed that he was taught the breathtaking celebration from his pal Kwadwo Baah who plays for Watford during the covid lockdown.
Willis added: “Kwadwo always does backflips for celebrations. So when I was jogging with him in lockdown I asked him how to do it.
“I practised and finally nailed it, and I’ve done it ever since.”
Willis aims to break into the first team starting spots and thinks his performance last week can help his case.
He also is eager to feature against Alloa as it’ll be the first time he’ll have played on live television.
He added: “I knew I needed to take my chance and I think I did.
“This is my first loan, I’ve kept my head down and worked hard.
“I hope I’ve proved to the manager that I can be trusted.
“The Alloa match will be the first time I have played on television so hopefully I can score and show off more backflips or even a twist but I’ll need to practice that.”
Willis’ performance and celebration moves definitely caught the eye of gaffer Murphy who praised the youngster.
IMPRESSED . . . Queens boss Peter Murphy
He said: “I didn’t even know Pharrell could do that so hopefully we’ll see that a lot more.
“I’m delighted for him because it’s took a while for him to settle in. He’s had a few things going on in his private life.
“He got the nod on Saturday, played well and scored a great goal.
“His link-up play was excellent and was a threat. I don’t think Montrose knew how to deal with him, Kai Kennedy and Brennan Dickenson.
“Pharrell has come in and scored. It gives us another striking option, it’s very pleasing.”
