Ruesha_Littlejohn

Ruesha Littlejohn

Ruesha Littlejohn

Irish footballer (born 1990)

Ruesha Littlejohn (born 3 July 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FA Women's Championship club London City Lionesses and the Republic of Ireland national team.[5] She has had four spells with Glasgow City, and stints with Norwegian First Division club IL Sandviken and English sides Arsenal, Liverpool, London Bees, Leicester City, Birmingham City and Aston Villa.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Born and raised in Scotland to an Irish Scottish mother, she has represented Scotland and the Republic of Ireland at under-19 and senior levels, respectively.[6][7]

Club career

Glasgow-born Littlejohn played youth football with Clydebank and Baillieston girls before joining Arsenal North. She signed for Glasgow City in January 2007 and won four successive titles with the club. In January 2010 Littlejohn signed for English champions Arsenal and made an immediate debut in the Gunners' 2–1 home win over Chelsea.[8] Shortly afterwards Tony Gervaise, who had also been Littlejohn's coach in Scotland's youth national teams, stood down as Arsenal manager. With Littlejohn then out of favour she returned to Scotland on loan with Rangers, where she featured in the first women's match to be staged at Ibrox Stadium.[9]

Littlejohn then returned to Glasgow City. She hit seven goals in the final game of the season against Inverness, as City secured another Premier League title.[10]

Along with Megan Sneddon and Suzanne Lappin, Littlejohn signed for Liverpool Ladies ahead of the 2011 FA WSL season. The Scottish trio made their Liverpool bow in a friendly win over Hibernian Ladies.[11] On her competitive debut against Charlton Athletic in the FA Women's Cup, Littlejohn marked the occasion by scoring a hat-trick.[12] She also fired a last-minute goal as Liverpool held rivals Everton 3–3 in the opening match of the WSL campaign.[13] During the mid-season break Littlejohn and Lappin went back to Scotland, this time with Celtic, making their debuts against Rangers.[14]

In May 2012, the Football Association (FA) gave Littlejohn a six-match ban and charged her £500 costs for comments made on Twitter.[15] During the 2012 FA WSL mid-season break, Littlejohn returned to Glasgow City: "It is great to be back at City again. I know the club so well. I have been here since I turned 16 years old and City is like my home, as I always seem to come back here."[16]

In March 2014 Littlejohn signed for the Norwegian First club IL Sandviken, based in Bergen.[17] By August she had scored 11 goals in 13 games to top the goalscorer's chart.[18] She finished the season as the league's top goalscorer with 19 goals from 22 matches as Sandviken were promoted to the Toppserien as 1. divisjon champions.[19]

Littlejohn was called into the Ireland squad in February 2015, listed as a free agent.[20] After a year with Celtic in 2015, Littlejohn returned to Glasgow City for her fourth spell with the club in January 2016.[21] She departed during the mid-season break, and was back in Celtic colours for the second part of the campaign.[7]

In July 2018 Littlejohn signed with London Bees.[22] In 2019, she joined West Ham United on non-contract terms. On 25 January 2020, she signed a deal until the end of the season.[23]

On 16 January 2021, it was announced the Littlejohn had signed for Birmingham City for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. She made her debut the next day in a 0–0 draw with Brighton.

On 1 September 2021, it was announced that Littlejohn had signed for Aston Villa for the 2021-22 season.[24] On 25 May 2023 she announced that she would be leaving Aston Villa W.F.C. at the end of the 2022-23 season.[25]

On 23 August 2023, London City Lionesses announced that they had signed Littlejohn on a multi-year deal.[26]

International career

Scotland

Littlejohn represented Scotland at Under-15 and Under-17 level. At the Under-19 age group, Littlejohn was part of the side which qualified for the 2008 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in France. She scored Scotland's only goal in a 3–1 defeat to England at the final tournament group stage. Littlejohn scored 12 goals in her 15 appearances for Scotland's Under-19s.[27][28]

Scotland's senior national team coach Anna Signeul excluded Littlejohn due to personal differences: "Em, well, the senior manager wasn’t a fan of mine. I think she thought I had too much carry on, a little personality, and she wasn’t really into that."[29][30][31]

Ireland

After three years of not playing internationally, Littlejohn's situation caught the eye of Arsenal teammates Emma Byrne, Yvonne Tracy and Niamh Fahey. They alerted the FAI to her eligibility through her maternal grandparents.

In February 2012 Littlejohn received her first call–up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad, for the 2012 Algarve Cup.[32][33] She made her debut with the Irish national team against Hungary at the final game of the Algarve Cup on 7 March 2012. Ireland won 2–1 to avoid a last place finish.[34] Altogether Littlejohn has so far been capped over 60 times by the Irish.[2] She was named in Vera Pauw's squad for the 2023 Womens World Cup.[35]

Personal life

Ruesha's twin sister Shebahn was a travel reporter on Glasgow radio station 102.5 Clyde 1 and now works for Talksport.[36] The family has a Northern Irish background and grew up in Old Drumchapel.[37] She is openly lesbian. In June 2019, fellow player and captain Katie McCabe revealed that they are in a relationship and that women's association football is very accepting of LGBT people.[38][39] The couple split in May 2023.[40]

Career statistics

More information National team, Year ...
Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first. Score column indicates score after each Littlejohn goal. Updated as of 5 May 2023.
More information No., Cap ...

Honours

Glasgow City

IL Sandviken[19]

Individual

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 – Squad List: Republic Of Ireland (IRL)" (PDF). FIFA. 11 July 2023. p. 25. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Ruesha Littlejohn". Extra Time.ie.
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    "Ruesha Littlejohn – Women's U19 Squad". The Scottish FA. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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    "Ruesha Littlejohn".
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    "Ruesha Littlejohn". Aston Villa Football Club. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
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    "Player Spotlight: Ruesha Littlejohn". Glasgow City FC.com.
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    Campbell, Alan (30 July 2016). "Football: SWPL title up for grabs with focus back on league". The National (Scotland). Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Ruesha Littlejohn". Arsenal.com. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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    "Ladies Snatch Late Point". Rangers Football Club. 17 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  10. [10]
    "Glasgow City finish with victory". Women's Soccer Scene. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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    "Liverpool give Scots trio debuts". She Kicks. 1 March 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
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    Leighton, Tony (26 March 2011). "Lady in Red looks toward FA Women's Cup Final". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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    Hudson, Louise (15 April 2011). "FA WSL: A derby thriller on Merseyside". Sports Sister. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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    Gillian Campbell (24 May 2011). "Celtic women triumph in derby clash". Celtic FC. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  15. [15]
    "Littlejohn suspended for six games". TheFA.com. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
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    "Glasgow City welcome the return of Ruesha Littlejohn". Glasgow City FC. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  17. [17]
    "Irish player to Sandviken". Womens Football.eu.
  18. [18]
    Karlsen, Thomas (18 August 2014). "Skotte til topps". Fotballmagasinet.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  19. [19]
    Karlsen, Thomas (30 October 2014). "Delt toppscorertittel" (in Norwegian). fotballmagasinet.no. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
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    "West Ham United Women: Ruesha Littlejohn agrees deal with Hammers". bbc.com. BBC Sport. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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    Who WINS who GOES? 🏆 Final weekend WSL preview with @ruetuberuesha 🍿, retrieved 24 May 2023
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  27. [27]
    "Ruesha Littlejohn". Scottish FA.co.uk.
  28. [28]
    "City stars in European Under 19 Championship Finals". Glasgow City Ladies FC.co.uk.
  29. [29]
    O'Malley, Carl (13 November 2014). "Ruesha Littlejohn has no regrets about defection". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  30. [30]
    "Littlejohn has 'no regrets' over Ireland switch". BBC Sport. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  31. [31]
    Crossan, Brendan (14 July 2023). "Joker Ruesha Littlejohn ready to get serious about Ireland's World Cup bid". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024.
  32. [32]
    "Irish women depart for Algarve Cup in Portugal". Sports News Ireland. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  33. [33]
    "Ronan names Irish Women's senior squad for Algarve Cup | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  34. [34]
    "Ireland Women complete Algarve Cup with victory". Football Association of Ireland. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  35. [35]
    "WNT squad confirmed for FIFA Women's World Cup | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  36. [36]
    Vurley, Callum (9 August 2023). "Piers Morgan hits back at talkSPORT host for 'staggering' comments about Megan Rapinoe". talkSPORT. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  37. [37]
    Fotheringham, Ann (1 March 2012). "WOMEN'S 10K: Countdown to the Big Run". Glasgow Evening Times. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  38. [38]
    Fallon, John (4 June 2019). "'The women's game is very accepting' - Ireland skipper Katie McCabe publicly confirms relationship with teammate". The Independent.
  39. [39]
    "Full of pride: 'You love who you love,' says McCabe". independent. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  40. [40]
    Cassidy, Emmet (19 July 2023). "Katie McCabe appears to confirm break-up with Ireland teammate Ruesha Littlejohn". BelfastLive. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  41. [41]
    "Senior women's team off to a winning start in Cyprus". FAI. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  42. [42]
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  43. [43]
    "Ireland draw with Hungary in Istria opener". FAI. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  44. [44]
    "Women's national team defeat Haiti". FAI. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  45. [45]
    "Ireland finish Cyprus Cup with win over Finland". FAI. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  46. [46]
    "IRL WNT secure emphatic qualifying win". FAI. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  47. [47]
    "City Awards Night". Glasgow City Ladies FC.co.uk.
  48. [48]
    "Glasgow City win Scottish Cup to complete domestic treble". BBC Sport.
  49. [49]
    "Hibernian 0-1 Glasgow City, Scottish Cup Final". Youtube.com.
  50. [50]
    "Scotland (Women) 2008/09". RSSSF.com.
  51. [51]
    "City retain SWPL Cup". Scottish FA.co.uk.
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