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12.04.05
Holland
3 - 0 Northern Ireland
The
Northern Ireland U19's travelled to Holland last week in preparation
for their participation in the 2nd Round UEFA Championships in Switzerland
at the end of this month.
Despite the wet and windy conditions, Northern Ireland got of to
a good start with several attacks coming from Jessica Stephens on
the left wing. Unfortunately, no one was able to get on the end
of the crosses delivered into the box.
Seconds
later Northern Ireland again came close to taking the lead after
Rachel Furness delivered a great corner, which Danielle McDowell,
although controlling the ball well, failed to place into the net.
Northern
Ireland's finest moment came 20 minutes into the game when Lynne
Mc Frederick broke up a Dutch passage of play, and played the ball
into the path of Rachel Furness, who after some neat foot work beat
three defenders, finding herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper,
who unfortunately managed to stand tall and palm the ball away.
Holland
began to settle into the game, but despite having a lot of possession,
were unable to penetrate the well organised defence of Northern
Ireland. It wasn't until the 39th minute that Holland broke the
dead lock, after a controversial free kick decision right on the
edge of the box. After a great delivery into the box, the Dutch
centre-forward, Dominique Vugts leaped high above everyone else
and powerfully headed the ball into the top right hand corner. Spurred
on by the goal, Holland continued to attack, however failed to go
further into the lead on several occasions.
Half-time:
Holland 1 v Northern Ireland 0
Immediately
from kick-off Northern Ireland were under pressure and conceded
their second goal when impressive Vugts managed to get on the end
of a cross, side footing the ball from close range into the net.
Northern
Despite being two goals down, Northern Ireland remained determined
and continued to press forward. Several early changes saw the introduction
of Lisa Carleton who linked well with Lynsey Corry on the left wing
to create some surging forward runs. Northern Ireland came close
to scoring when Rachel Furness narrowly missed the goal from a free
kick.
Holland's
third goal came from Anneloses Kock, after a defensive misunderstanding
allowed her to sneak in to tap the ball into the net from close
range.
Final-score:
Holland 3 v Northern Ireland 0
Although
Ian Stewarts side conceded 3 goals on the night, Ian remains upbeat
about the teams overall performance. "For periods of the game
we were the better team and should have gone into the lead on several
occasions. Unfortunately, we just couldn't captialise on the opportunities",
said Ian. On an individual level, performances from key players
such as Rachel Furness were encouraging and the squad remain upbeat
about next months UEFA mini-tournament.
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