Home Standard Chartered INTERVIEWRecord-breaking Rachel Furness: 'I have to pinch myself at my crazy journey' PUBLISHED 8 HOURS AGO Facebook Twitter Email Rachel Furness is a national treasure. Not content with having equalled David Healy’s all-time Northern Ireland scoring record the week before, a double against North Macedonia on Monday saw the Liverpool FC Women star set a new record of 38 goals and counting for her country. “I kind of have to pinch myself as it’s been a crazy journey for me since making my debut in 2005,” Furness told Liverpoolfc.com. “To be the leading women’s goalscorer is amazing but to be overall top scorer for the country and to score 38 goals, no-one ever has done that in history before, so it’s a very proud moment for myself and my family.” You have to accept cookies in order to view this content on our site. MANAGE SETTINGS Furness, whose mother is from Belfast, is an inspiration to aspiring young footballers in Northern Ireland and she played a major role in helping her country reach the 2022 European Championships, having netted five goals during qualifying. She added: “We’ve still got a lot of preparation before it but we can’t wait for the big kick-off in July. “It’s been amazing the journey Northern Ireland have been on in the last two to three years. It’s really what dreams are made of by going from underdogs to qualifying for a major tournament. “Beating teams 9-0 and 11-0 was kind of unheard of by us before and in the past we’ve been on the end of some of those results ourselves. But I just think it shows the growth and development we are having in the country at the minute and the buzz to play for Northern Ireland has gone crazy. “There are loads of young girls and young boys playing the game and for us to have a sell-out crowd for our last two home games shows just how far we’ve come over these last two years.” ‌ Furness is also enjoying life at club level, with the Reds currently sitting four points clear at the top of the FA Women’s Championship. However, she insists the squad are keeping their feet firmly on the ground as they seek a return to the Women’s Super League. “The manager said at the start of the season it wasn’t going to click straight away from game one and we fell short against London City Lionesses,” Furness said. “But as the weeks have gone on, I really think we have shown the quality of our squad depth. “Personally, I haven’t started every game as I’ve been going through a process myself having come back from a broken left fibula and getting myself in a good way. “It shows the strength of depth we have, as the team hasn’t stayed the same all season yet we are getting the results and reaping the rewards. I think momentum is massive at the minute. “If you look at the games we have won, they have been on the back of international breaks, so we are in a very good place as a squad at the minute.” With just one league outing remaining in 2021, at home to Charlton Athletic on Sunday December 19, Matt Beard’s side are guaranteed top spot at Christmas. “That’s an amazing feeling,” Furness said. “At the start of the season we wanted to try to get up there and the manager told us if we were in the top three around Christmas that would be fantastic. “We do put pressure on ourselves as a squad but the fact that we are up there as competitors, it’s now a case of, ‘How hard can we work to stay up there?’ That is our focus now and our target. “We do take each game as it comes but now we are up there we want to stay there.” Highlights: Sunderland 1-3 LFC Women The strength of character within Beard’s side was shown at Sunderland last time out, when they fell behind but hit back to win 3-1 and extend their unbeaten streak to 12 matches in all competitions. For Furness, impressing on her return to her hometown made for a memorable night. She said: “It was nice to go home and have all of my family there at the game watching, and it was actually the first time since I left Sunderland I’ve been back at Hetton and played against them. “It was a special night. I managed to get two assists and I always say an assist for me is always as good as a goal. “We played really well and to get the three points, we were over the moon with that.” ‌ Working under the guidance of Beard is another experience Furness is thoroughly enjoying. “He’s a great character,” she said. “He’s a great person to have around the club and I think everybody has taken on board what he wants from us and we are really enjoying having him in. “You only have to look at the results on the pitch to see how successful we have been, and that just shows he has had an impact – a positive one and long may that continue.” Furness has been at Liverpool since 2019 after arriving from Reading. A fan favourite, the No.10 considers it a real honour to represent the club. “It means everything to me,” she finished. “I’ve been lucky enough to put on the shirt for a couple of years now and I know how much it means to everyone in the city of Liverpool. “I’m a Newcastle United fan myself and the support the fans give very much reminds me of Liverpool with the passion, the pride and everything that comes with wearing the shirt. “Every time I put on the shirt, I hope I can make the fans proud and do the shirt justice because I know the weight it carries. “I always try to give 100 per cent on and off the pitch, and I think the fans can see that. 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