Who is NI's 'unassuming but exciting' new striker?

From Antrim Rovers first team as a 14-year-old to a Northern Ireland call up, Kascie Weir is tipped for a big future

"About a year after she started with me, I said to her dad that she was going to go far and had a really good chance at going across the water.

"Kascie was about 11 but you could see she could make it. She just had something."

In his 20 years as a coach, Mark Gourley has seen many young girls and boys come through at Antrim Rovers.

Right from the off, he could see there was something special about Kascie Weir.

Now 18, Weir has been called into the Northern Ireland squad for the opening Nations League matches with Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

So how did the girl who was a "dream to coach" move to the brink of a senior international debut in eight years?

Gourley first came across Weir at Under-11 level at Antrim Rovers, situated near the banks of Lough Neagh in the heart of Northern Ireland.

Straight away he realised: "Wow, she's different gravy".

"It was everything, she was striking the ball harder than most of the boys her age," he said.

"She was a joy to watch. You would tell her what to do and away she went and she always had a smile on her face.

"Out the back of her house was a park, and she was kicking a ball with the boys from about four or five years of age. I'd be surprised if she still wasn't doing that.

"She is naturally talented. When she started, she would win nearly every game.

"We had a good team, but she was the difference."

Weir's form for Antrim Rovers caught the attention of top-flight side Glentoran

While Weir's talent is clear, Gourley says there was one thing that stands out as "a big difference with her".

"Her attitude and work rate are unbelievable. She does everything 100%, whether it's training, matches or even warm-ups. She puts everything into it.

"Even when I see her away from football around Antrim, she usually has a ball at her feet. Football was all she thought about.

"It's hard to explain because I've never seen it before in any of the other boys or girls I've seen in 20 years of coaching, I've never seen that level of effort being put in."

Women's Premiership side Glentoran tried to sign Weir when she was 14 but that was pushed back by a year to give her a season to play senior football with Antrim Rovers in the third tier.

The step up was seamless.

"She scored something like 46 goals," Gourley recalled.

"She was playing against some tough teams, but she did well."

'She has a bit of everything'

Weir eventually joined Glentoran in September 2022 at 15 and has become more and more of a regular for Kim Turner's side.

After earning a league title and Irish Cup winners' medal in 2023, she took another step forward in 2024 and scored seven goals in 22 league matches.

That's not a bad figure for a teenager finding their feet in the top-flight, but it's boosted by the fact a significant number came off the bench, showing she is a player who can make an impact.

"Kascie is a really exciting player. She's really quick, quite skilful and a real number nine," said Northern Ireland midfielder Joely Andrews, who moved from Glentoran to Hearts in July after coming through the academy at the club.

"She likes to get a shot off at any opportunity and she has really good qualities in and around the box."

In something that has not changed from her years in youth football, Glentoran captain Jess Foy said Weir's work ethic helps her to stand out.

"Kascie is very unassuming and quietly goes about her work, and her work rate off the pitch, like in the gym, has been outstanding for a kid at such a young age.

"She is still young and is still growing, so she's getting stronger year on year.

"For me, she is really exciting and has a bit of everything.

"She doesn't need loads of opportunities. Even if she's on the bench, you know there is going to be a goal or two in her. You can rely on her."

Weir impressed manager Tanya Oxtoby in a training match between the Under-19 and home-based senior players ahead of the camp

While Foy hopes to keep Weir at the club as she has the potential to be someone "we can build our future around", she acknowledges "she definitely has the qualities" to move into full-time football.

"In terms of quality and ability, I've no doubt she could go and play anywhere.

"Whenever she finishes up school there will be loads of opportunities for her and she will have to make the decision on what is best for her."

That is an assessment that Gourley agrees with, and he feels she can "go even further" if the move is right.

"I don't even think she'll be at the Glens in a year or two, she could go across the water [to England or Scotland]," added Gourley.

"But Glentoran manage young players well and they do the right thing for them."

'She has nothing to lose'

Weir was set to be featuring for Northern Ireland's Under-19s, who she had played for from the age of 16, in Albania in February's international window.

However, that changed when striker Kerry Beattie, another youth product of Glentoran, picked up an injury playing for Aberdeen on Sunday and she was on a flight from Tirana to the senior team's training base in Leicester the following day.

Manager Tanya Oxtoby had a number of replacements to pick from, but Weir got the nod after impressing in training matches between the Under-19s and domestic-based senior players.

Andrews says Weir "really deserves" the opportunity and says the teenager has to "enjoy it and learn" as much as possible.

"All the girls will put an arm around her and be there to help her out," said Andrews, 22.

"You have to learn off the older and senior players who have been there and done it before. I'm still learning and doing that myself."

Weir was set to feature for Northern Ireland's Under-19s before her late call-up to the senior panel

While Weir has undoubted potential, it would be unfair to expect her to be thrown in at the deep end and expect too much, too soon.

Captain Simone Magill is the first-choice striker, while Emily Wilson and Lauren Wade can also operate centrally.

Realistically, some minutes off the bench, perhaps in Tuesday's game at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina, is the most we will see of the teenager.

But football is a funny old game and, as her call-up shows, you just never know what is around the corner.

Foy says that Weir has "nothing to lose" and says playing top-flight senior football from the age of 15 will help her adapt to stepping up to the international stage.

"What an unbelievable opportunity for her to show Tanya what she is about and put her name in the mix," she added.

"She won't be going in to hide or low in confidence, she is there on merit.

"Kascie has nothing to lose, only to go out and show what she is capable of. I'd love to see her get a few minutes."