Natasha Dowie will probably never forget the day that the then assistant England manager, Brent Hills, telephoned to say that the Liverpool striker - the top scorer in the FA women's Super League - had not been selected for England at Euro 2013.
Several months later the omission remains bizarre but, looking forward to England's World Cup qualifier against Wales on Saturday evening, the 25-year-old who has lit up women's domestic football this year is calm at the recollection. "He [Hills] said that I hadn't made the squad, but I'd be on standby." She pauses, remembering back to a difficult conversation in June. "Obviously I was very disappointed to hear that because I'd had a good start to the season and I was obviously top goalscorer at the time. But there was no point in having a hissy fit and crying about it, it was out of my hands, it was out of my control, and so I just got my head down in the break and worked even harder."
She claimed the golden boot and lifted the league trophy in her first season with Liverpool but a glance at the centre-forward's international record shows only five England caps to her name - two having come in the World Cup qualifiers last month when Hills, newly appointed caretaker manager, recalled Dowie to the squad. "Yeah," she says with a weary laugh, "I know. I've said it, it was a frustrating time but obviously I had to respect Hope Powell's decision not to take me [to Euro 2013] and she was the manager at the end of the day. I just had to perform well at club level and obviously Brent Hills has seen something in me that he likes and has brought me back into the set-up. Hopefully with a fresh start with the England set-up I might get more of a chance now, and I'll try to take it - which I think I did against Turkey and Belarus, coming on and scoring in both games, that was pleasing. Hopefully I can keep doing that and working hard."
The striker finished bottom of the league two seasons in a row with Everton before moving to Liverpool. She says: "There are too many people who want to knock you down in life but the knocks make you stronger. And that's when you see the players strong enough to get through when others might quit. I like to prove people wrong. I'm only 25 and I've got a lot more to give."
After an injury-plagued season last year, Dowie was determined to make a success of 2013. Crossing from blue to red, lured to Liverpool in excitement at the prospect of training full time - still a rarity in women's football - she says she benefited from the coaching style of the manager, Matt Beard, which included one-on-one sessions to work on her finishing technique. The investment paid off with Dowie's 12 league goals sealing an historic title win for Liverpool, breaking Arsenal's nine-year monopoly in the process. Liverpool in turn have shown their appreciation for her contributions, showcasing a pair of Dowie's boots alongside Michael Owen's at their museum opening this week.
It is quite an image for the Hertfordshire-born striker who was frequently shunned when playing football with the boys at school - even when she began playing in the England youth set-up. "At school the teacher tried to get me involved in the boys' team but the boys never really passed to me," she says. "I scored in a match one day and it didn't really go down too well, the boys didn't like it. That went on throughout primary school and even into secondary school, I wasn't really allowed to play with the boys. I remember a five-a-side tournament I played in with a boys team and we reached the final, but because the boys in the other team didn't like it I wasn't allowed to play."
Luckily a football crazy family - her father holds an A coaching licence, while her uncle is the former Crystal Palace manager Iain Dowie - encouraged her to continue and she finally reaped the rewards in lifting the league trophy last month. It is a memory she relives everyday, she says with a grin. "I don't think I'll ever get over being a champion, that's such a special experience, especially since Arsenal had dominated for so long. I can't remember anyone else winning the league, to be honest. For us to have made that history, we just want to go and win it again next year."
With her domestic career in full flight, Dowie says she now wants to fight for a place in England's starting line-up and add an international flourish to an already sparkling 2013. The FA has yet to announce who will attempt to guide the England team to Canada 2015, but whoever it is, Dowie is determined to finally be part of the journey.
Source: The Guardian
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