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Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland captain Simone Magill says Play-Off destiny is in sqaud's hands ahead of Bosnia clash
Those who are full-time professionals will go off on their summer break, while an immediate refocus to domestic action this weekend will be the case for those who play for Irish League clubs. There is no major tournament to look forward to, no place in the sun a la Southampton three years ago for the Women's Euro 2022 Finals. While the cream of Europe is battling it out for the right to be called the best team on the continent, Northern Ireland will be watching on. That doesn't mean the final Women's Nations League group game is without meaning. Far from it. Where Northern Ireland finish in the table and what comes next are hugely important in the context of obtaining a first World Cup qualification and the potential for at least a guaranteed qualification Play-Off. That's what comes with being a League A team, which Tanya Oxtoby's side have ambitions to be and, while automatic Uefa Nations League promotion is no longer within reach after Friday night's 4-0 defeat to Poland, that ambition is still achievable. Indeed unless things go badly wrong for Northern Ireland against Bosnia & Herzegovina, a Play-Off for a place in League A awaits and the World Cup becomes a realistic aim, even if there would still be much work to do in terms of at least winning two Play-Off contests over the next couple of years. Even a single goal defeat would secure second place in the group and finishing a place higher than the 2023 Nations League, with promotion to play for rather than a fight to avoid relegation, would be the kind of success the team has been striving for. 'We spoke at the start of this campaign about our aim and that is still very much in our control and I think that is the most important thing,' said captain Simone Magill. 'If we can go and get the result we want then that's been success for us. It would be a special feeling (to get to League A). We spoke about after qualifying for the last major tournament that we didn't want it to be a one-off, we wanted to be in the mix again and getting promotion to League A would do exactly that, it would start to put us back in the mix and get us closer to being back where we want to be.' The safety net of a three point cushion ahead of both Bosnia and Romania isn't something that manager Oxtoby wants to have to rely on — the head-to-head record already means that Romania can't get into second place and the thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Bosnia gives Northern Ireland an advantage as things stand. The three wins against the Bosnians in the last 15 months aren't in Oxtoby's mind either. Her reign has been something of a roller-coaster since taking charge in September 2023. Now the hope is that with everything in Northern Ireland's hands, there is a smooth ending to this campaign, ready for a rise again come October with the carrot of taking someone's League A status from them. 'We know that we are in a really good position where we can affect our own destiny and that's what we wanted going into this game,' said Oxtoby. 'The job is certainly not done, We are by no means expecting to turn up and the result to be ours. 'We need to make sure that we are fully focused and we go 100 miles an hour after it. 'I would just be so happy for the players because it has been a tough window and a tough campaign and that reward for all the effort that everyone has put in would be the most pleasing thing.'
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
NI Women's boss has full faith teen shot-stoppers will come good: ‘If they are called upon, I know they are ready to go'
Instead, the manager has backed uncapped namesake teenagers Abbie and Kate Smith to rise to the challenge if she has to throw either in at the deep end. Jackie Burns' status as Northern Ireland's No.1 is in no doubt and backed up by the fact that she has played every minute of the 15 matches since she returned from injury against Malta in April 2024. Behind her, however, there is no experienced or obvious backup. Sixteen-year-old Abbie Smith played just once in the Women's Premiership for Crusaders Strikers before moving to Manchester City's Academy in 2025. Kate Smith, who was called into the squad to face Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina after Maddy Harvey-Clifford was ruled out, does have more club game-time behind her with both Larne Women and Lisburn Rangers and was part of the Northern Ireland Under-19 squad that played in the recent European qualifiers. 'From my point of view, both Abbie and Kate deserve to be here,' said Oxtoby. 'If they are called upon, I know they are ready to go. 'If it goes really well, I take all the credit, and if it goes really poorly, then I'll take the flak for that. 'It's no different to outfield players, they have to be given the opportunity. They came into the environment last time around as training players, they did really, really well and they deserve to be here.' Four goalkeepers were used in the 12 games that Burns missed during a year out with an Achilles tendon injury. Shannon Turner played six times but hasn't been in a squad since Burns returned, while Harvey-Clifford started four times and Lilie Woods and Rachael Norney shared a clean sheet when both made what is their only senior appearance so far in a friendly away to the Czech Republic in July 2023. Lauren Perry had returned to the squads at the start of 2024 but her chances of challenging for a starting place were wrecked by a third cruciate ligament injury, and Becky Flaherty, who kept two crucial clean sheets on the way to the Women's Euro 2022 Finals, hasn't been in a single squad since the tournament. The selection of the two Smiths may be with the future in mind, but the present also has to be taken into account with a Nations League Promotion Play-Off still to be played for in Bosnia. 'I know they are prepared really well if needed,' said Oxtoby ahead of Tuesday's encounter in Zenica. 'If the time comes and they go into the game, I've got no doubt that they'll do the job that is asked of them. 'If they make a mistake, that's on me, not on them.'
Belfast Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Simone Magill hoping small changes will make a big difference for Northern Ireland
That is the hope of Simone Magill as she prepares to lead Northern Ireland into what can rightly be considered the country's biggest game since the Women's Euro 2022 Finals. Subtle yet obvious tactical tweaks by manager Tanya Oxtoby in the last two home games have impacted on the captain and the results have been clear – two goals from Magill herself to earn a 3-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina before a superb move involving Keri Halliday and finished by Kascie Weir to defeat Romania 1-0 when they were deployed in a three-pronged attack. It's a refreshing change for Magill, and while Oxtoby has hinted that the approach may not be quite as adventurous when Northern Ireland face a Euro 2025-bound Poland at Seaview with promotion to the top level of the Women's Nations League on the line, the need to win the game in order to take top spot in the group means a search for goals is a must and, therefore, attacking with purpose is essential. 'I felt like we really clicked and there was a lot of fluidity in the attack and when we did commit numbers forward. It was really exciting, certainly for me. I really enjoyed that game,' said Magill as she reflected on the win against Romania which, combined with Poland scrambling a late draw against Bosnia, means there is only a three-point gap between the teams. 'It was really nice for me to to have another striker in the team as well, because for so many years in my international career I was a lone striker and 90 minutes felt like a long time. 'Tanya's adapted the way we've played and hopefully people from outside can see the effects of that and what that looks like. 'It was really enjoyable and hopefully we can show some more of that.' With that hope also comes expectation. The expectation that Northern Ireland themselves have created. No longer is it a case of turning up for international games against the stronger nations – which, as a team heading to a major tournament, Poland are – hoping to keep it tight at the back, frustrate them and come away with a moral victory if an actual one isn't possible. The players expect more of themselves now and that's why the target of promotion to League A and a place among Europe's elite top-16 countries isn't just an aspiration, it's a target the squad has set for themselves. 'At the start of this campaign we set out our aims as a group of where we wanted to be. That's still exactly the same and that's still very much in our control,' said Magill. 'The important thing is we get a good result against Poland and then we take that into the game against Bosnia. 'Our aim has always been to try to get into League A and I think that would be hugely successful if we do that. You go into these campaigns and you want to put yourself up there in amongst the top teams. 'We've said since we qualified for the Euros that it is very much in this group's aim at some point to be challenging for those things again. Getting into League A is part of that.' A factor in that successful Euro 2022 qualifying campaign was the team's home results. All the games in that series were played at Seaview, where Northern Ireland will return to when Poland come to town. In eight games between November 2019 and the last game there in October 2023 Northern Ireland were unbeaten. Being back on Belfast's Shore Road is a little like stepping back in time to a special time, while hoping that the memories can inspire the team to a future that will be equally as memorable. 'A lot of us have very fond memories of playing for Northern Ireland at Seaview,' added Magill. 'We've had some really euphoric nights here. Hopefully we're playing exciting football and have another memorable night. That would be perfect. 'We had a really good run of games here and we built up really good momentum and we made this place a fortress. I don't think that will have changed even though we've been playing elsewhere in between. I think we'll flick right back into that.' As well as the 2-0 win over Ukraine that took Northern Ireland to those Euro 2022 Finals, Magill fondly remembers a 9-0 win over North Macedonia at Seaview. With UEFA using head-to-head as the separation factor if teams are tied, a 3-0 win is required in order to overtake the Poles, who were 2-0 winners in Gdansk in February. It's a repeat of those kind of Seaview nights that is needed in order to have the biggest impact.
Belfast Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
NI star praises former manager's influence after confirming international retirement
The 30-year-old last played for her country in September 2023 and spoke for the first time about her decision to end her Northern Ireland career after winning 59 caps. McGuinness was instrumental in taking Northern Ireland to the Women's Euro 2022 Finals, scoring crucial goals against Belarus and the Faroe Islands in qualifying, and then went on to mark her 50th cap with a goal against Lativa before hitting a memorable hat-trick against North Macedonia. 'I have retired. That's done now. I have more to focus on now, both in terms of football and life," said McGuinness. 'I am happy playing for my club and I want to get everything I have while I still can, and outside of football family and friends are just as important. I gave up a lot over the years for it, so I feel like it's now time to give back what I gave up. 'Whenever Kenny came in I wasn't in the squad and he took a chance on me. He asked me to come back in and I can do nothing more than thank him for giving me that chance because without it I wouldn't have been at the Euros and we wouldn't have got that that unbelievable run in qualification. I wouldn't have got my 50th cap and I wouldn't have scored on it. A big part of it was down to him. 'Whenever he brought me back in he told me how he wanted me to play. He said to me, you're an attacker, I want you to attack and that's all I ever want to do in football. 'As an attacking player, you just want to attack and you want to score and you want to get assists, and he gave me the license to do that and I really, really enjoyed those years with him.'
