Kerry Beattie: Glentoran striker on returning home, Euros 'heartbreak' and bouncing back

How much does it mean to score your first international goal? This much.

Coming into 2022 Kerry Beattie was riding the crest of a wave.

A trophy-laden season with Glentoran, in which she was the top scorer in the Women's Premiership, saw the 19-year-old earn a move to Scottish title challengers Glasgow City.

The striker had just netted her first international goal in World Cup qualifying, which included a famous celebration. Everything was on the up.

However, after a "hard" seven months Beattie is back with Glentoran after missing out on Northern Ireland's final squad for Euro 2022 - something she describes as "heartbreaking".

Her "tough" decision to leave Glasgow caught many off guard with the highly-rated striker tipped to only be embarking on the start of a long professional career.

• Northern Ireland have made history, the next step is crucial

"It was a big decision for me and I don't think anybody expected it," Beattie admitted.

"I could have stayed there, and I did tell myself multiple times before I left, 'you're homesick, relax and try and get through the storm'. But there comes a time when you have to make a decision for yourself, football aside, what was actually best for me.

"People were saying I was doing so well and still scoring goals, but they don't see the other nine hours in a day you spend alone.

"Maybe that was something that wasn't really talked about before. It's not just football, it's life and you are on your own a lot.

"It's how you cope with that as a person, and when I started to feel myself not being able to cope with it that's when I said, 'right, it's time to come home'."

After dealing with her own experience, Beattie says she feels it is a topic that needs to be discussed more among young players hoping to make the professional move.

"It's important they know it's brilliant being a professional footballer, it's your dream and still something I want to do, but you have to put yourself first in many situations," she added.

"Maybe I was a wee bit naive. I thought I was going across the water, going to be popular and have so many friends, but you are training that hard you don't have time to go out and meet people.

"It is very hard and you do spend a lot of time on your own. Going away from my family, friends and comfort zone was a big risk, but it was one of those where if you don't take it then you will never know.

"I definitely would have carried it throughout my life thinking 'what if I had have gone there?'.

"I have learnt a lot over the past six months. There are things I would definitely do differently but I'll never regret it."

'Probably one of the worst days of my life'

After a difficult start to the year, Beattie described her omission from Northern Ireland's squad for Euro 2022 as "probably one of the worst days of my life".

"I'm not even going to sugar-coat it," she said. "It's everything we had been training for over the past year and a half. I've been part of it all right up until that final day.

"It was a tough one to take, but ultimately it will show my character and hopefully that shines through."

Beattie had to take herself away to try to deal with missing out on the Euros.

"It's hard. People would automatically say they are going to work really hard, but you have to step away," she said.

"You have to take time to process it, and it did take me a few weeks. It was bittersweet watching the girls at the Euros.

"I'm delighted for them, they are my team-mates and my friends, but watching at home was tough."

Beattie says Simone Magill (left) is one of her closest friends in Northern Ireland's squad

She added: "It doesn't feel like it right now, but it is probably going to be one of the best things that will ever happen to me at this age, to miss out and hopefully come back."

If Beattie continues to find the net she could be in line for a recall to the senior Northern Ireland squad to replace Simone Magill, who injured her anterior cruciate ligament in July's Euro 2022 opener with Norway.

"Simone is one of my close friends in the team and I would talk to her a lot. When I wasn't picked she was one of the first to throw her arms around me," Beattie said.

"She plays my position and she knows I am coming after her, but there is no bitterness there. When I heard about her ACL I was gutted.

"For me it is an opportunity to step up. It's up to me to fire in the goals."

Professional dream 'never been more alive'

Beattie says she has learned a lot about herself, adding she has become "very resilient".

"Growing up a lot of coaches would have said I had no confidence. I didn't really believe it, but when you grow up you realise it was maybe a lack of confidence.

"I don't have that any more. You have to learn to take the ups and downs.

"You could have six unbelievable months and the next six months could be not so good. Football is ruthless."

Beattie scored twice on her first appearance back at Glentoran and will travel to Romania where Cluj await in the Champions League.

Beattie, who said it was "surreal" and "incredible" to play in the Champions League as a teenager, believes the Glens, who beat Cluj last season, have prepared well and can pull off another impressive result in Europe.

In terms of her professional dream, Beattie is adamant it has "never been more alive".

"I want to go to uni, get that out of the way first then the world is kind of my oyster," she added.

"I would love to go to England, Italy, Spain or Iceland. You could go anywhere because women's football is so broad now.

"It is exciting and it's definitely not over for me, I really want to try and push again."