Every player has a specific journey to the highest level in football and, despite being only 22 years old, Ella Morris has risen through grassroots level to the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Having joined us from Southampton in the summer, where she made over 100 appearances for the south coast side, the defender made her competitive debut in the WSL trip to Chelsea back in November – featuring in four games in total in our colours.

In a brand new series, we asked Ella to revisits her photo gallery over the years to select some of her favourite moments caught on camera throughout her footballing career, discussing who inspired her to step on to the pitch, the battle of overcoming injuries to achieving her life-long dream.

"It was just a special moment to share the pitch with her, especially as she was one of my biggest inspirations when growing up."
Ella Morris
“Well, this was my first-ever football tournament for Fawley Falcons. I think I was roughly five years old in this and it was good seeing my parents on the sideline as well. My dad also made a little video that he put on YouTube, so there’s a little highlight reel of me and has ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna in the background.
“From what I can remember, it was just how much I loved everything and we all rotated positions, I actually went in as a goalkeeper for it at one point as well which I actually enjoyed. I wanted to be a keeper, so I tried to stick with that position for a while, but I preferred being an outfield player in the end.”
“This one is just me playing in the academy at Southampton, around Under-14s level, but this was just about me growing up through the Academy and, obviously, this had a big influence on me, where I learnt my craft really.
“I remember, when it got changed from Hampshire Centre of Excellent to Southampton’s academy, how excited I was to be able to wear the badge of a Club that I have grown up supporting so that was really cool moment for me.”
“Going from club football to on the international stage, here’s my England youth debut at Under-15s away to Belgium in 2017. I had been at national performance camps for England before this, I had one other teammate from Southampton who went with me, but meeting everyone else was a completely new experience.
“I was obviously very nervous then, but you look at the players who are pictured alongside me, Maya Le Tissier and Katie Robinson, who have obviously gone on to earn caps in the senior team, then a couple of the other girls have been in the Under-23s with me recently. It’s nice to look back at this image to see how far we have all come and the friendships we have created together.”
“Although this was my league debut for Southampton at tier five level, more importantly, it was my first game that me and my sister ever played together as she’s three years older than me, so we had to get a picture together after the game to remember the moment.
“She actually played on the right of the two centre-backs and I was playing right-back, it was just a special moment to share the pitch with her, especially as she was one of my biggest inspirations when growing up.
“I remember that my sister got me into playing football, whatever she did, I had to do basically. She started playing for a local team called Fawley Falcons and I just followed suit and joined her there, she was a massive inspiration for me when growing up and I learnt a lot from her, helping me to get where I am today.
“Progressing through the lower leagues at Southampton sort of allowed us to build a team, create some core beliefs and how we wanted to play and it meant we could build on that as we progressed through the divisions.”
“Well, we are lost this game, but it’s another good picture to look at to see the journey I have been on. This was from the UEFA Women’s European Under-17 Finals, playing out in the Netherlands. We had to win this game 3-0 to have any chance of progressing out of the group but we only managed to win 2-0, I remember how gutted we were in the changing rooms, we all thought it was the end of the world.
“In that game, I was up against Esme Brugts who has gone on to be a regular for the Netherlands at senior level, so it’s just really nice to see all these players that you have faced in your youth journey becoming established players at the highest level.”

Credit - UEFA

Credit - UEFA

“This was my first game back for Southampton after I suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. It happened during the lockdown period, meaning I was away from football and all my friends, it was one of the toughest periods of my life. So, to have that feeling of getting back onto the pitch again and making my first appearance after a long 13 months was just a momentous achievement - a very special moment for me.
“I suffered the ACL at the age of 17 so my family were really important in supporting me, especially having to be away from friends and, more importantly, due to the global pandemic, I couldn’t see any of the physios at Southampton, so it was incredibly challenging but I had so much support to help me get through that period.”

Credit - Southampton FC / Izzy Field

Credit - Southampton FC / Izzy Field

Credit - Southampton FC / Izzy Field

Credit - Southampton FC / Izzy Field

“Ahh this was a big moment for me, scoring my first-ever goal at St Mary’s Stadium against Bristol City in the FA Cup. It was a winner in extra-time to win the game and progress to the next round of the competition.
“It was also the furthest we had ever reached at that time, so that was amazing to score in front of all the supporters, especially for me having grown up and dreaming of playing there. It’s just a really special memory to have.”
“Here’s my first-ever goal scored at any international level and, as you can clearly see, I was buzzing about it and also a bit surprised.
“That feeling of scoring for your country – no matter which age group – was really special and actually one of the best finishes compared to all my other goals. It’s always a proud moment putting on an England shirt and representing your country at any level.”

Credit - FA/Getty

Credit - FA/Getty

Credit - Southampton FC / Izzy Field

Credit - Southampton FC / Izzy Field

“We played Arsenal last season in the Women’s League Cup in front of a record-breaking crowd at St Mary’s, I think we nearly had 14,000 in the stands, which was an amazing experience to play in front of.
“It was my first time playing against Arsenal at the time and, after watching the north London derby last season, I was excited to be part of this fixture in a Spurs shirt. It was amazing to see the atmosphere around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of playing at that amazing stadium for our next two fixtures there – against Manchester United and Chelsea.”
“I’m ending it on making my Spurs and WSL debut, that was something I have been working towards for a very long time and it felt so good to have finally achieved that. Obviously I suffered that injury in pre-season and had to wait for this moment longer than I probably wanted to, but it’s something I learnt.
“I haven’t been injured in a while, so it was about relearning the patience that I had with the ACL, knowing my time will eventually come. Now I’m just looking to kick on in these colours and helping the team to try to pick up as many points as they can while, for me personally, try to get on the pitch as much as I can and make an impact moving forward.”