25/05/2010
By Danielle Dunbar
The girls travelled to sunny Scotland on Sunday and with many key players missing, the opportunity was there for some of the younger players to stake their claim for a place in Alfie Wylie’s squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers this summer. This meant Kendra McMullan, Simone Magill, Marissa Callaghan and Nicole Connolly made their debut against a very strong Scottish side. The girls got off to a positive start with Rachel Furness, Marissa Callaghan and Helen McKenna having a several good attempts at goal. The girls kept the pressure on throughout the match and defended well, with Scotland having to wait until the 68th minute to open the scoring. Even when falling behind, the girls stayed strong and showed great ability with Nicole Connolly unlucky not to equalise. In the 92nd minute Scotland added a bit of gloss to the scoreline when they scored from a dubious penalty before the final whistle was blown.
Alfie Wylie, Northern Ireland Women’s Manager was pleased with the girls’ performance. He said: “The girls played well with a many good attempts at goal. They defended well and showed great ability for their up and coming match against Estonia. We are pleased for the opportunity to play against such a high ranking FIFA team and all credit to the girls for playing such a good game in sweltering conditions.”
Northern Ireland : Higgins, Hurst, Bailie, Corry, Hutton, Caldwell, Harbison, Turner, McKenna, Furness, Callaghan subs Armour, McMullan, Connolly, Magill.
Lynsey Corry (Glentoran BU Club player) won the player of the match award. This award was duly deserves for a solid, commanding and determined performance from Lynsey. Well done
