Experienced forward joins Reading ranks
Reading FC Women are very pleased to announce the arrival of striker Natasha Dowie, who joins the club after spending the previous season at AC Milan.
A full England international, with a wealth of team and individual trophies over the course of a career that has seen her play in six different countries, Dowie brings invaluable experience to Kelly Chambers’ squad as preparations continue for the upcoming campaign.
Dowie, 32, spent a single year with Milan and notched an impressive 14 goals in 24 matches in league and cup… undoubted earning a place in the heart of the Rossonere faithful for scoring twice in each of her derby meetings with Inter, in both Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
That was her 17th campaign in football – it all began at Watford for the striker back in 2004, before stints in the capital with Fulham and Charlton.
Her move to Everton in 2007 was quickly rewarded with silverware: she spearheaded a Toffees attack which ended Arsenal’s two-year stint without defeat with a 1-0 win in the Women’s Premier League Cup final.
And at the conclusion of the 2010 campaign, she registered twice in the FA Women’s Cup final – again it was Arsenal who were vanquished, as Dowie made it 3-2 by netting a 119th-minute winner at the City Ground.
She crossed the Merseyside divide alongside Fara Williams in 2013 to join Liverpool – a move that brought her instant success as she finished her first campaign as WSL leading goalscorer, was voted as FA Players’ Player of the Year and selected in the PFA Team of the Year, alongside winning the first of back-to-back league titles.
After three seasons as a Red, Dowie spent the interim between the 2015 and 2016 seasons on loan with Melbourne Victory – her first foray overseas – before joining Doncaster Rovers Belles for a brief stint. That was quickly followed by a permanent move abroad, making the move to NWSL side Boston Breakers, where she twice more she plugged the gap between campaigns with loan stints down under Victory.
After the Breakers were disbanded in early 2018, she headed back to Europe to join reigning Swedish champions Linköping on a short-term deal, before eventually joining Melbourne Victory for a fourth stint – her first permanent spell – in the summer. As captain of the side, she hit the net nine times in 12 fixtures to help Victory to their first W-League Premier title.
Once again occupying her off-season with competitive action, this time her loan spell midway through her two seasons in Melbourne came in the opposite direction as she scored 11 times in 18 appearances for Norwegian side Vålerenga, narrowly missing out on the league title. And then, in 2020, Dowie moved to Milan where she picked up runners-up medals in league and cup – missing out to Juventus in Serie A, and being denied by a penalty shoot-out to Roma in the Coppa Italia final.
And now a glut of global experience and goalscoring nous has been added to the Royals’ front line with Dowie’s arrival this summer.
Reading FC Women manager Kelly Chambers said: “I am delighted to bring Tash to Reading. Tash is someone that I have been watching for the last 18 months. I wanted to bring Tash in last season but she had different aspirations at the time but I am delighted to now call her a Reading player. Tash is going to be a great addition for us, firstly because she is a proven goal scorer where ever she has played but also she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the side.
“Looking over the last couple of seasons there is no hiding from the fact that we haven’t been ruthless enough in front of goal with the amount of chances we have created in games so bringing Tash in will bring a player who is more comfortable in those areas and will definitely add to the quality I ready have.
“Tash has very high standards and is a player that wants to keep improving but also wants to help the team push forward. I am extremely excited to work with Tash and keep pushing this team in the right direction.”
