It was the team’s first match in what is a difficult group that also contains Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina.The match began with a flurry of corners for both sides, however either sides defence began strongly and the ball was easily cleared. It was Macedonia who started the brighter of the two sides and they had a couple of opportunities to open the scoring but Lauren Currle was able to save any shot comfortably.
However as the match progressed Northern Ireland grew into the tie and with both Beattie and Basset coming close to opening the scoring. On the 33rd minute it was the captain of the side Emma McMaster who opened scoring with a good finish that left Evgenija Krsteska with no chance.
That strike spurred the Northern Ireland team on and the remainder of the half saw Northern Ireland continue to press the Macedonia side. As the referee blew for half time it was Northern Ireland who looked more likely to score next.
The start of the second half began in the same vain as the first ended with Northern Ireland pressing Macedonia. On the 58th minute that pressure paid off as Chloe Orr scored the second for Northern Ireland.
The second goal saw Macedonia look to attack Northern Ireland more however the defence stayed strong and limited the chances for Macedonia. Into injury time substitute Morganne Beggs, who was only on for 8 minutes, scored the final goal of the game as Northern Ireland won the game 3-0.
The girls next game is on Wednesday against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who lost 5-0 against Italy, kick off is at 11:00 GMT.