Toone: Team-mates are on the journey with you
Ella Toone has been looking back on “six years of memories and goals” after becoming the first player to reach the 50-goal landmark for Manchester United Women.
In an exclusive interview to mark her extraordinary achievement, our no.7 is quick to credit her team-mates who have given her the confidence to achieve this accolade, stating, “Your team-mates are on the journey with you.”
Like any other player expected to score goals, Ella has endured some dry spells. She revealed that in November, prior to a wonderful goal against Brighton and Hove Albion, she’d “forgotten what it felt like to score for United.”
During that period it was the support of her team-mates that gave Ella the confidence to continue performing. Reds forward Rachel Williams, for example, told her before kick-off against Brighton, “This is your game, you’re going to get a goal today.”
Toone explained the support of her fellow players “gives you that belief to go out there and, when a chance does come up, to take it.”
Toone reached the magic 50 milestone by scoring the first of her two goals against Everton on 31 March, when the Reds won 4-1 at Leigh Sports Village. Her tally now stands at 52, after netting the only strike in last Sunday's 1-0 win away to Leicester City.
A previous effort at the same ground is among the goals Ella picks out in our exclusive interview. It came in September 2021, a long-range rocket to open the scoring in an eventual 3-1 victory.
Ella Toone | First to 50
💬 Ella Exclusive | Tooney flies through six years of United Women’s history and discusses her recent 50-goal landmark…
“I think that one sticks out because it was probably the first long-range shot I'd ever done!” she admitted. “I was used to just scoring tap-ins.
“I remember that game, at the King Power against Leicester, and I remember it just opening up for me and being able to take the shot. It was a decent finish.”
With three matches left to play this season, Toone has time to produce some more decent finishes. To see if Ella can do it at Old Trafford on Saturday 18 May, be sure to book your tickets for United v Chelsea in the WSL.