'What she's doing now and the way she's trailblazing for the women and girls not just in this area, but everywhere, is just fantastic'
The moment Ella Toone's stunning semi-final goal against Australia hit the back of the net, the nation went wild. But in one pub in Greater Manchester this meant more.
Ella, born and raised in Tyldesley, is from a football-mad family and says her first taste of the beautiful game was being taken to local club Hindsford FC by her dad Nick, who played for and managed them. "There weren't any leagues at the time so they even set up their own Warrington league so that they could play competitive football against other girls' teams.
And Lorraine said her success has 'done the world of good' for the club and the popularity of girls' football in the area. The club now has 13 girls teams and says youngsters from all over are clamouring to play for them due to 'Toone effect.' "We call it the 'Toone effect.' The girls come down and now they are playing on the pitches she played on. And it seems to give them some sort of boost when we play home games, they have extra fire about them.
“She was two years older than me but somehow we just ended up getting on really well," Keeley said previously. "I was always referred to as the ‘mini Ella’ growing up at school. "You see now she still plays darts and all sorts. She's an all-round sporty person. But football was her passion. You knew that as she always had a ball at her feet. And we knew she had talent right from when she came through the door. And I always thought she had it in her to go big.
"I just wish we'd have had a girls' team for her to play for but obviously all that has changed now with the explosion of the women's game. And Ella has been at the forefront of that." Childhood United fan Ella left the Red's centre of excellence in the last year of under-15s football, as at the time there was no women's team to progress to, and joined Blackburn Rovers before joing on to make five appearances at City between 2016 and 2018.
Other members of her extended family along with friends and fans are set to gather in her local pub to watch the fina, the Union Arms on Castle Street in Tyldesley. "I don't think the enormity of what she did in the Euros hit her at the time, until afterwards. But she's so unbelievably down to earth. No one would ever be refused a photo or anything. She still walks down the high street and says hello to people. She doesn't forget her roots that kid.
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