Durham Women FC have announced that Scottish international striker Zoe Ness has rejoined the club.
Ness, 20, came through the ranks at Durham Cestria before playing for the Wildcats as they entered the FA Women’s Super League in 2014.
She made 20 appearances for Durham in their debut season, netting twice, before moving to Swedish side Mallbackens IF.
While in Sweden she made 42 appearances for the Damallsvenskan side and scored eight times for the club.
And now, with the FA WSL Spring Series on the horizon, Ness has rejoined her former club keen to see them push on and build on their record-breaking fourth place finish from last term.
Speaking after putting pen to paper, the striker said she was delighted to be back in the North East.
“It feels like the time has gone really quickly but it’s good to be back and see a lot of familiar faces and be in a familiar environment,” she said.
“I was really pleased to have those two years (in Sweden), but it’s the right time to come back and a good decision.
“I’ve been watching Durham closely, because they were the first team I played for, and I think they’ve done well. But there’s a lot more to do and it’s an exciting time to come back and play here, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Manager Lee Sanders was also happy to see the striker return to the club. He said: “Zoe’s a player who has been in and around the club for a very long time and we know all about the qualities she has,” he added.
“She’s had a couple of years away over in Sweden which was, at the time, a good opportunity for her and the right thing for her to do.
“Obviously she’s come back to England now with the focus on trying to force her way into the Scotland squad for the European Championships and we’ll be doing everything we can to help her achieve that.
“But first and foremost, she’s come back in and trained with the rest of the squad for a few weeks and got back into it with the other girls.
“She’s enjoyed it, she’s looked sharp and we’re looking forward to seeing her play again.
“The team did extremely well last year but other clubs are signing players and we can’t stand still. We’ve got to try and improve and we’ll do that by bringing players in.
“Hopefully Zoe will come in, enjoy playing again and give us something different to what we have in the team at the moment. We’re happy that she’s here and we’re looking forward to the season.”
Report courtesy of Durham Women FC
