A footballing genius aged five....now Tyldesley's Lioness hero is on the cusp of making World Cup history
20.08.2023 - 05:45
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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.
Members of Ella's family and friends packed into the Union Arms in Tyldesley, where a huge mural of her adorns the side of the building, to watch her fire the Lionesses one step closer to World Cup glory.
And they will be doing the same again on Sunday, with just 90 minutes against Spain standing in the way of immortality for her and the rest of Sarina Wiegman's squad.
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However, for those who know Ella and have seen her development firsthand, this is no surprise. They always knew she was destined for the top. The Manchester United star has become one of the torch-bearers during the explosion in popularity of the women's game.
Yet again, they say this is typical of her. Even from when she was a young child, she has broken the mould and used her enormous passion for the game to shatter barriers.
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.
At age five, she joined local junior club Astley and Tyldesley. And bosses there say Ella was instrumental to the establishment of a girls' team at the club.
Lorraine Warwick-Ellis, 52, Girls Section Development Officer at the club and whose husband is the chairman, said: "It was her and her friends, and other girls, who wanted it so it got set up here at our club.
"They were seeing family members and others on boys teams and thought 'The lads are all playing so why