GALLERY: Rachel Daly returns to Harrogate’s Rossett School

England footballer Rachel Daly returned to Rossett School in Harrogate today to rename a 3G sports pitch in her honour.

Rossett’s most famous former student brought the place to a standstill as pupils and teachers turned out to cheer her.

Headteacher Tim Milburn greeted the Aston Villa striker at 10am before she was whisked away to meet staff and tour the building.

When she re-emerged about half an hour later, pupils formed a guard of honour as she walked from the school buildings, accompanied by her dog Dexy, to the pitch.

When they got there, Rachel — wearing white trainers and clothes by her street fashion brand sponsor Hera — joked about how much Dexy loved the attention and thought it was for her.

Dexy was certainly a hit but Rachel, who was accompanied by her family, was the undoubted star on a rare return to the school she left in 2010.

After a short speech from Mr Milburn, Rachel removed a black blanket to reveal a sign for the newly named Rachel Daly 3G Pitch. Behind her, a group of girls played football on the pitch. She said:

“It’s an honour for me to be here and have this named after me.

“It’s great seeing the young girls out here today and having them on a pitch that’s named after me. It’s a feeling I don’t think I’ll ever get used to.”

Rachel, the current PFA Players’ Player of the Year, spoke about coming home with sand burns after playing on the old astroturf pitch and how Rossett and Harrogate held a “special place in my heart”.

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Mr Milburn described Rachel, who started out at Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club, as an inspiration not only for Rossett pupils but also for anyone who uses the sports facilities. He added:

“She’s not just a Rossett hero, or a Killinghall hero, she’s a town hero. Why wouldn’t we want to honour her?”

Although the school has been quick to honour Rachel, North Yorkshire Council has yet to indicate whether it will support a call from Killinghall Nomads, supported by the Stray Ferret, for Rachel to receive civic recognition.

The Conservative-controlled council said two months ago it was urgently considering a policy on how to recognise achievements by local people.

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Simon Myers, whose portfolio oversees such matters, what progress had been made since then but has not received a response.

Here are some images from Rachel’s return to Rossett today.

Headteacher Tim Milburn welcomes Rachel Daly to the school.

Pupils form a guard of honour.

Dexy the dog was never far from Rachel’s side.

Rachel Daly, alongside the Rachel Daly 3G Pitch.

The Rossett Lioness and the sign she unveiled.

Current Rossett footballers look on as Rachel talks to her family.

 

With current footballers on the 3G pitch.

 

Dexy takes centre stage again.

Calls grow for Harrogate’s Rachel Daly to start for England in World Cup

Harrogate-born striker Rachel Daly is the centre of attention in the run-up to England’s second Women’s World Cup match tomorrow.

The Lionesses’ Group D match against Denmark kicks off at 9.30am tomorrow in Sydney. It will be broadcast live on BBC One.

England, who scraped home 1-0 against Haiti in their opening match on Saturday, have not scored in 337 minutes of open play.

Manager Sarina Wiegman left out Daly, who was the leading scorer in the Women’s Super League with 22 goals last season for Aston Villa, in favour of Arsenal’s Alessia Russo.

But the team’s toothless display, in which they had 11 shots on target, has increased pressure to start with Daly up front.

Daly training with England. Pic: Rachel Daly Instagram

Ex-England forward Eniola Aluko described the team’s attacking play as “predictable” on ITV and suggested Daly would be more effective at winning crosses from wingers Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly. She said:

“In the first half Russo was playing, but if that is the approach and the pattern of play, should it be Rachel Daly up there instead? She is stronger in the air.”

Daly’s 337,000 Instagram followers have also been clamouring for her to start a match which will see England almost certainly qualify for the knockout stages if they win.

Daly came on as a 76th minute substitute against Haiti, which England won thanks to a re-taken Georgia Stanway penalty.

The former Killinghall Nomads player said afterwards:

‌“No-one’s happy to sit on the bench. If you are, then you are not in the right place, not in the right career. But that’s the beauty of having a competitive squad. Everyone’s digging for a position.

‌“It’s a headache Sarina has to have in multiple positions.”

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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly wins golden boot

Rachel Daly won the Women’s Super League golden boot today by finishing as the season’s top goalscorer.

Daly was on the scoresheet again in Aston Villa Women’s 2-0 final day defeat of Arsenal Women.

It took her total for the season to 22 — two more than Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.

The prestigious golden boot is awarded to the league’s top goalscorer and Daly’s total equals the all-time record.

It capped another remarkable week for the England player, who was yesterday named Barclays’ Player of the Season.

Daly, 31, joined Villa from Houston Dash last summer and was a member of the England Lionesses team that won Euro 2022 last summer.

She started her career at Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club and returned to the club this month to open a cafe named after her.

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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly on verge of winning golden boot

Harrogate-born Rachel Daly scored again yesterday to go three goals clear with one match to go in the race for the golden boot.

Daly scored just before half-time in Aston Villa Women’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Women’s Super League.

It took her total to the year to 21 — three more than Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, who failed to score for Manchester City Women in their 2-1 loss to Manchester United Women.

Whoever scores the most in a season is awarded the prestigious golden boot.

Erling Haaland looks certain to win the men’s award in the English Premier League, now Daley will be hoping to secure the women’s accolade when Villa face Arsenal Women on the final day of the season on Saturday.

Yesterday’s strike means Daly is now just one goal short of the all-time record for most goals in a season in the Women’s Super League, which was set by Vivianne Miedema in 2019.

Daly’s fantastic form since she left Houston Dash last summer to wear the claret and blue of Villa last week earned her a nomination for the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award.

Fans have until Sunday to vote for their favourite and can do so here.

Daly returned to Harrogate to a hero’s welcome eight days ago to open Nomads Daly Brew, the cafe named in her honour by her former club Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club.

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Harrogate hotshot Rachel Daly to open Killinghall cafe

Harrogate hotshot Rachel Daly is to return to her roots on Sunday to open a cafe named after her.

Killinghall Nomads opened Nomads Daly Brew this year in honour of the England and Aston Villa striker, who started playing football for the junior club near Harrogate.

Now Daly, who is leading this season’s race to win the Women’s Super League Golden Boot, will return to officially open the cafe.

Sunday’s opening, which will take place at 12.30pm at the cafe at Killinghall Moor Community Park, gives local people a rare opportunity to meet the local superstar, who had advertised her attendance to her 327,000 Instagram followers.

England men’s manager Gareth Southgate and former England player turned pundit Micah Richards have been invited but it is not known if they will attend.

Daly has had a remarkable season since her summer transfer from Houston Dash to Aston Villa Women.

Her hat-trick in Aston Villa Women’s 5-0 defeat of Reading Women on Sunday catapulted her to the top of the list of leading goal scorers in the 2022/23 season.

Whoever finishes top is awarded the prestigious golden boot.

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With two games remaining, she has 20 WSL goals — two more than Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.

Manchester United Women’s Leah Galton, who like Daly was born in Harrogate, is joint third with 10.

Nobody has ever scored more than 22 goals in a season since the golden boot was introduced in 2011.

Daly’s form up front has been a major factor in Aston Villa Women’s rise to fifth place in the WSL. They also reached the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals.

Strikers made in Harrogate set for FA Cup semi-finals

Two footballers who started out on pitches in Harrogate and Knaresborough will be bidding for a place in the Women’s FA Cup final this weekend.

Leah Galton and Rachel Daly have risen from local leagues to play as strikers for two of the biggest clubs in the country.

Galton, who began as a junior with Knaresborough Celtic and then played for Harrogate Railway, has banged in 29 goals for Manchester United Women since she joined them from Bayern Munich in 2018.

She is the joint third highest scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with eight goals.

Manchester United Women will line-up against Brighton & Hove Albion Women at 5.15pm today.

United, who have never won a major women’s trophy but are top of the Women’s Super League, will be fancied to beat lowly Brighton.

Tomorrow, Daly’s Aston Villa Women will take centre stage in the second semi-final against Chelsea Women at 2.15pm.

Daly, who started at Killinghall Nomads and won Euro 2022 with England last year, is second on this year’s leading scorer list with 13 goals.

If Manchester United and Villa win, it could result in the remarkable prospect of two local women playing up front in the cup final at Wembley.

Both semi-finals will be televised live on the BBC.

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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly fires Aston Villa Women into FA Cup semi-final

Harrogate-born Rachel Daly scored the goal that sent Aston Villa Women into their first FA Cup semi-final last night.

Daly’s extra time winner helped Villa overcome last year’s beaten finalists Manchester City Women 2-1

It was her 19th goal of a remarkable first season since her summer move back to the UK from Houston Dash.

Manchester City Women are third in the Women’s Super League — two places above the West Midlands team.

The match hung in the balance until Daly popped up at the far post in the sixth minute of extra time to score the decisive goal.

Villa are now one match from Wembley and will enter Tuesday’s semi-final draw alongside Manchester United Women, Brighton Women and table-topping Chelsea Women.

Daly, who started playing at Killinghall Nomads and now has 319,000 followers on Instagram, has been in fine form all season not only for Villa but also England.

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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly scores four in Women’s FA Cup

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly continued her fantastic form when she scored four goals for Aston Villa Women in the Women’s FA Cup yesterday.

Villa cruised to an 11-0 win over AFC Fylde to reach the last 16 of the competition.

England star Daly, who started her career with Killinghall Nomads, opened the scoring in the second minute and added a second as her side went 6-0 up after 25 minutes.

She was denied a 13-minute hat-trick when her penalty was saved but still notched a couple more after the interval.

Daly, who played as a defender during England Lionesses’ Euro 2022 victory last year, is having a remarkable first season in the West Midlands since her summer transfer from Houston Dash.

Playing up front, she is along with Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw the joint highest scorer in the Women’s Super League with nine in 11 matches — which doesn’t include her FA Cup goals.

She has twice been named Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month this season.

The draw for the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup takes place at 6.30pm tonight on the BBC’s Sportsday show on the BBC news channel and BBC iPlayer.

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Rachel Daly wins Women’s Super League player of the month award

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly won the Barclays Women’s Super League player of the month award for September.

Daly, who plays for Aston Villa, scored three goals last month including a brace against Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Carla Ward, coach of Aston Villa Women, picked up manager of the month award for the WSL.

Villa went unbeaten throughout September and currently sit third in the league.

On her return the England from Houston Dash, Daly scored twice in the opening WSL fixture against City at Villa Park.

The match ended in a 4-3 win for Villa and Daly was crowned player of the match.

Her third goal of September came against Leicester City in a 2-0 victory.

The award continues a stellar year for Daly, 30, who was also a key part of the England Lionesses’ success at Euro 22 in the summer.

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