Admission to the World Cup Qualifier is a nominal £2 or free if you are a member of the Irish Football Association Official Supporters Club – so make sure you come along and support the Northern Ireland girls when they take on France at Windsor Park on Wednesday March 31, kick-off 7.45pm._
The side will travel to Bolougne sur Mer for the away game on Saturday March 27, with Windsor Park hosting the home game on Wednesday March 31, kick-off 7.45pm.
The girls won their first game in the campaign in October 1-0 away to Croatia with a goal from Rachel Furness; and were unlucky to lose their second game 1-0 at home to Iceland.
France are currently ranked 9th in the world and the games will provide massive challenges for the Northern Ireland girls; however assistant coach Gail Macklin remains optimistic that they can cause an upset.
“We are walking into these games as the underdogs, but that’s a role we’re used to, we thrive under that banner. We have a game plan and we hope France are underestimating us,” she said.
The women’s domestic season in Northern Ireland doesn’t start for another month, so obviously the fact that the majority of the girls haven’t been playing regularly is a bit of a concern; however they have all been training and working very hard and spirits are high within the team.
“The lack of match fitness is a problem we’ve been dealing with for quite some time now. But we’ve been trying as a squad to find ways around it, such as having warm-up matches including the one against Wales in February,” added Gail.
And the assistant coach firmly believes that the future is bright, with the squad continually going from strength to strength.
“There are a lot of young talented players in the team who, with more games and important experiences such as these highly competitive games, will get better and better,” she said.
“Pace is certainly one thing our team possesses in abundance, and players like Sarah McFadden are really capable of creating chances which can help us to get something from the games against France. We had a good crowd at our last qualifier against Iceland at the Oval in October, and hopefully the fans will come along again and get behind the girls at Windsor Park on March 31.”
Source: ifa website (All photos by Roy Cathcart)
