Northern Ireland Women continue to defy odds with spirited performances against England and Austria
Lauren McCann
Northern Ireland face an uphill battle to qualify for the 2023 World Cup despite two promising displays.
There was a collective sense of disappointment in the air at Seaview on Tuesday night when Stefanie Enzinger headed home an equaliser for Austria in the 91st minute in front of a 2,000 strong crowd.
Part of it can be attributed to the fact that Demi Vance’s swirling free kick was a goal worthy of winning any game, but the overriding feeling was heartache at the fact that Northern Ireland had just been denied another famous night in north Belfast.
In the context of qualifying for the World Cup, only time will tell how damaging the result could be to their hopes. England are favourites to top Group D having made a 100% start to qualifying with routine wins over North Macedonia, Northern Ireland and Latvia.
That leaves the Green and White Army battling it out with Austria to claim second spot and a place in the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
If both sides finish level on points it will go down to head to head record, meaning that as it stands, Kenny Shiels’ squad will have to equal or better the 2-2 score line when the two meet again in April.
It is testament to just how far the squad have come that they are left kicking themselves at their inability to hold on for three points against a side of professional players ranked 27 places above them.
Re-wind only five years ago and a result like this, never mind the performance which accompanied it, would be unthinkable, such is the seismic shift which has occurred in the senior set up since Shiels took over.
Just like on Saturday against England, it was the fitness and clinical nature of the full time Austrians which told in the end, despite Northern Ireland matching their opponents for large spells of the game.
Whilst the fixture against Sarina Wiegman’s side at Wembley will hog the headlines of a memorable international break, the tussle with Austria, particularly in the second half, encapsulated the upward trajectory of this squad.
After falling behind to Barbara Durst’s goal just before half time it looked like it could be a long second period ahead for the girls in green.
They had battled tremendously well against the Austrians in the first half, as they did against England for 64 minutes at the weekend, before the goals began to rain down in Wembley.
Instead of wilting however, Shiels’ team talk at the break rejuvenated the hosts, who scored two sumptuous goals within five minutes of the restart to turn the game on its head.
Lauren Wade produced a cool finish to tuck home from Rachel Furness’ inch perfect through ball, before Vance sparked jubilant scenes when she curled home a long range free kick on 50 minutes.
They weathered the storm for large portions of the second half and looked to have done enough to earn a historic victory, but it wasn’t meant to be, as a lapse of concentration at the death was duly punished with a sucker punch.
When one sits back and reflects on the break as a whole, taking the emotion out of conceding so late, it has been another hugely productive camp.
Northern Ireland managed to go to Wembley and frustrate England, a nation ranked 8th in world rankings, for over an hour of the game, executing a clear game plan almost perfectly.
Northern Ireland held firm against England for over an hour in front of a raucous Wembley crowd
They were a whisker away from taking a shock lead in that game, with Fran Kirby making a vital interception to prevent Caragh Hamilton getting on the end of Lauren Wade’s cross.
Another positive was Jackie Burns enhancing her fledgling reputation with two tremendous performances between the sticks.
Whilst it feels unfair to pick out one player given how well the team played as a whole over the two games, the Glentoran stopper made fantastic save after fantastic save to keep Northern Ireland competitive in both games, and she was undoubtedly the player of the match in both.
Shiels once again had to contend with absences which cut deep into his squad, but such is his ability to get the best out of what he had, they arguably didn’t seem to miss their unavailable players all that much.
Star striker Simone Magill was only able to make a late cameo against Austria, whilst Chloe McCarron, Caragh Hamilton, Nadene Caldwell and Laura Rafferty were all unavailable for that game.
With the draw for this summer’s European Championships set to take place tomorrow the excitement surrounding this squad continues to grow.
Whilst they go in as extreme underdogs to their maiden tournament in England, the performances and results over the two games against two top nations show that Northern Ireland have nothing to fear, and will fancy their chances of getting points on the board if they can replicate such displays.
Lauren McCann is the Scoop’s Sport Editor and an English and Spanish student at Queen’s University Belfast.