Safe to say Osula delivered.
The 22-year-old had only been on the pitch for five minutes when he headed off on a charge down the right channel to pick up Kieran Trippier’s forward pass.
There was still an awful lot of work to do when he got the ball near the touchline, so what was going through his mind?
“What’s going through my head first of all is to keep the ball in, I felt like it was nearly going out of play,” he said.
“Then, as I kept the ball in, it was just to be direct, come in and try and change the game. When I see a one-on-one situation I go and take it and I’m happy with the end product too.”
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The end product was a stunning left footed effort curled into the far corner to give 10-man Newcastle all three points.
“The message [from Howe] was to come on and show what I can do, have an impact and try and make us win the game,” said Osula.
“Glory to God, that happened.”
Osula has had to be patient since his arrival on Tyneside a couple of years ago. He barely played last season and almost left for Frankfurt in a £30m deal last summer.
The Magpies ended up pulling the plug on that move and Osula was regularly used in the early stages of the campaign, only to then face a two-and-a-half month spell on the sidelines.
But he’s worked his way back to fitness and Newcastle’s coaches and players were thrilled for the striker after his big moment on Wednesday.
“They’re very happy for me,” he said.
“They know what I can do and a lot of players know what I’m able to do. I’m happy that I showed in this game what I can do and hopefully I can show more of what I can bring.”
It was a big moment for Newcastle as well, a much-needed win after three successive Premier League home defeats, and the Magpies played the second half with 10 men on Wednesday after Jacob Ramsey’s controversial sending off.
Osula said: “When you’re down to 10 men it’s not easy to defend the goal and obviously you don’t have as many attacking players.
“You’ve got to protect the goal. Moments like this are top for the whole of Newcastle. To win the game was an amazing feeling.”