EXCELLENT WIN FOR NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOL GIRLS
29/01/2010
THE Northern Ireland U18 Schools Girls squad put in an excellent performance against Australia on Wednesday to beat their visitors 5-2.
The friendly international which was played on the 3G pitch at Ashfield Boys School in East Belfast, attracted a good number of supporters to cheer on the players.
Both teams started in attacking fashion – Australia had the first opportunity on goal having worked the ball wide down their right flank and delivering across the face of goal. However Alice Harkness managed to get down low to parry the shot past the post, while the visitors’ corner was dealt with well by the Northern Ireland defence who cleared immediately.
The home side then started to build some good attacks, particularly down the left side; however they found it hard to break down the Australian defence.
Australia had the most chances on goal early in the first half as the Northern Ireland defence struggled to deal with their attacking play and numbers getting forward. Harkness was called upon on a number of occasions and was up to the task. It was late in the first half when Northern Ireland started to create more opportunities, while Rachel Laverty and Avila Bergin put a few shots just wide. Bergin was unlucky after being creative on a couple of occasions and Nadine Caldwell also came close from midfield but her well-taken strike from outside the box went just over the bar.
Northern Ireland came out in determined fashion in the second half, realising that the game was there for the taking. They started extremely well building play from the back. Chloe Archibald came on at right back after 60 minutes and Hayley O’Donnell came off. Archibald settled quickly showing good composure and creating channel balls. She was called upon early to clear off the line after Harkness had committed and was beaten.
Amy Doherty also came on 63 minutes into the game and replaced Avila Bergin up front. The home side had really upped the tempo of the game and it was play down their left side from Lisa Armour to Demi Vance which created their first opportunity. Vance whipped in the cross from the left and Laverty did well to get on the end of the cross to finish low into the net.
Australia however counter attacked and less than two minutes later levelled the score. Northern Ireland responded minutes later with a second goal. Laverty got on to a cross from the left from Vance allowing her to finish at an acute angle. Northern Ireland had really got into their stride now and were passing and moving the ball well and creating all sorts of problems for the Australian defence. The third goal came from the right side this time as Alex Hurst pushed forward in support at right midfield and latched onto another cross from the left to finish with a super strike from the edge of the box.
It looked as if it was plain sailing for Northern Ireland at this stage and just rewards for all their hard work. However Australia persisted and a ball was played in cleverly to the feet of their centre forward who flicked and volleyed it surprising Harkness in goals. Megan Wetherall came on as a centre forward to replace Rachel Laverty and Nikita Morgan came on in left midfield to replace Demi Vance on 70 minutes. Lisa Woods then replaced Alice Harkness in goal for her debut on 75 minutes and was called upon almost immediately to make a save from a one-on-one.
The Northern Ireland girls were having a great battle in midfield with Kendra McMullan and Caldwell starting to dominate. Nicole Connolly and Sarah Gamble were working well together in defence to break down any counter attacks. Aoife Lennon replaced McMullan in the centre of midfield on 76 minutes and immediately got into the game. The home side had forced a corner and it was from a well worked short corner set piece that Lennon scored Northern Ireland’s fourth goal. The girls had now gained momentum and were working really hard and indeed never let up despite being 4-2 up.
They were rewarded close to the whistle when again Hurst had pushed on the right in support. Morgan on the left had settled well and was beating players to attack down the left. It was from a Morgan cross that Hurst latched onto wide back post and showed good composure on the ball to finish hard high into the net, 5-2 to NI.
An excellent scoreline for Northern Ireland who were fielding a youthful team against more experienced older Australians. This bodes well for the squad who have been working extremely hard in training and they can look forward to hosting the European Championships in October and carry on the good work for this campaign.
NI Squad
GK – Alice Harkness
RB – Alexandra Hurst
CB – Sarah Gamble
CB – Nicole Connelly
LB – Lisa Armour
RM – Kendra McMullan
CM – Hayley O’Donnell
CM – Nadine Caldwell
LM – Demi Vance
CF – Rachel Laverty
CF – Avila Bergin
Subs
Chloe Archibald (RB)
Amy Doherty (CF)
Lisa Woods (GK)
Nikita Morgan (LM)
Megan Wetherall (CF)
Aoife Lennon (CM)
Staff
Coaches – Niall Curneen, Alison Nicholl
GK Coach – Brian Hutchinson
Assistant – Heather McCracken
Physio – Claire Briggs
