Lisburn Rangers player Ellie Scott takes to the pitch in the UEFA qualifiers

Ellie, a student at Banbridge Academy, is a goalkeeper for the NI Women’s U17 squad and is thrilled to be representing the country when the tournament kicks off tonight (Friday October 21).

The ladies will be playing against Finland, before going on to compete against Austria on Monday (October 24) and the Republic of Ireland on Thursday (October 27).

Ellie has been playing football since she was just ten years of age and she hopes that one day she will go on to play in the Women’s Senior League and get a senior cap for Northern Ireland.

"I’ve been playing football properly since I was about 10 years old, I became involved with Northern Ireland a few months after- so it was a really quick process for me,” explained Ellie.

“I am a Goalkeeper, even though I don’t score all the goals I still love it. I love the buzz of making a penalty save or a 90th minute stop to help my team win the game, and the overall adrenaline I get during the game."

Ellie first got involved with football at primary school and join Lisburn Rangers Ladies team after the covid lockdown. "They coach and support me to practice and improve all attributes /skills of my game and the work they put in with their academy is just phenomenal,” Ellie continued. “Lisburn Rangers Ladies recently won the ‘IFA National grassroots club of the year’ which is an incredible achievement for us and it just shows all the hard work the club puts into their academy.”

Ellie is inspired by the England and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps and hopes to one day follow in her footsteps. “I would hope to move to England and play at the highest level over there or if not, I would continue playing for Northern Ireland here. My dream is to play in the WSL and to also get a senior cap for Northern Ireland.”

Ellie made her competitive international debut in March this year against Luxembourg in a UEFA WU17 qualifying tournament in Israel and she admits it was a dream come true.

"I had the ‘dream debut’ as you might call it, we won and I got player of the match,” she said. “It was an amazing feeling and we went on to top our group also beating the Faroe Islands and Israel in the process.”

The local player is delighted that women’s football has received more attention since the recent success of the England team, who triumphed in the World Cup and she hopes the sports popularity will continue to grow.

"The more people going to the matches the better,” she said. “As a player it feels amazing for us when you feel valued because people want to take time out of their busy schedules to watch you play.”

Next week’s matches will be streamed live on the Northern Ireland YouTube channel