Local women celebrate UEFA success story

The squad were seeded third in their group, however they finished three points clear of the home nation and favourites Hungary.

The team included local girls Laura Nicholas and Shannon Dunne from Londonderry, Rebeckah McMullan from Limavady and Alana McShane from Donemana.

The girls also faced tough competition from Lithuania and Poland.

The opening match against Poland began their winning streak with two ‘wonder goals’ from team captain Simone Magill in the first half.

Despite many attempts on goal from Poland, Northern Ireland held their own with a solid defence and excellent goalkeeping by Rebecca Galbraith-the match ending 2-0 in Northern Ireland’s favour.

The girls’ second match was against favourites Hungary who also had the advantage of playing on their home turf.

This match proved more challenging for the girls: however,they soon showed they were more than able for the Hungarians.

A shaky start saw Londonderry school girl Laura Nicholas score an own goal but she soon bounced back, scoring in the 52nd minute. Magill soon followed up with another goal giving Northern Ireland a 2-1 lead.

An equaliser from Hungary’s Zeller saw Kirsty McGuinness seal the deal with a goal in the 88th minute giving Northern Ireland a well deserved 3-2 win over the hosts.

On going into the third match against Lituanania Northern Ireland had already qualified however were determined to “finish in style.”

Laura Nicholas once again showed her worth scoring the opener whilst Magill scored an excellent hat-trick before being taken off.

Nicholas then donned the captain’s arm band when Magill was substituted and described this as an “honour and my proudest moment in football.”

Coach Alfie Wylie commended the girls’ efforts and their hard work and said: “The girls had a positive mindset following past friendlies against the Czech Republic where we won one and drew.

The girls’ hard work really is paying off as they are now fitter and stronger.

“This is the first time any of our teams have won three games out of three and it’s a fantastic achievement. It shows all the girls’ hard work was not in vain.

“We have some great players from the North West who along with their parents make great sacrifice to travel up and down to Belfast.”

Laura Nicholas also commended the great work of the girls along with the “dedication” of the staff including Alfie and Gail Mackin.

“We don’t know who we’ll play until November,” she said.

This success follows that of the U-17 ladies who won their age division in the tournament and were captained by another Londonderry schoolgirl Aoife Curran.

They also topped their group of Italy, England and Isarel despite being the underdogs.

With more and more girls progressing through the County of Excellence programme Northern Ireland it would appear are now producing their best female footballers.