Northern Ireland’s Under-16 development squad secured a win in the first of their SuperCupNI games yesterday afternoon.
Competition
SuperCupNI Girls U16 Premier competition
Scoreline
Northern Ireland U16s 4-1 Shamrock Rovers
Scorers
Northern Ireland: Kelly (48’), Conway (61’) (68’), Stanyte (67’)
Shamrock Rovers: Cowper-Gray (11’),
Venue
The Diamond, Rathcoole
Date
Monday 24 July 2023
How it happened
After a slow start from Northern Ireland, Shamrock Rovers took the lead with an 11th minute goal. Despite a few chance on target from Northern Ireland, the Shamrock goalkeeper comfortably defended their lead in the first half.
Half-time: Northern Ireland U16s 0-1 Shamrock Rovers
The second half started proved more positive for the Northern Ireland side as they put pressure on the opposition. Defender Anastasija Stanyte saw her free kick crash off the crossbar in an early attempt to kickstart the second half.
In the 47th minute, a triple substitution made an immediate impact with an equaliser one minute later from forward Lucy Kelly as her first action of the game struck past the Shamrock goalkeeper.
Northern Ireland took the lead as Laura Dowie delivers a cross to Gracie Conway who brings the score to 2-1 on the 61st minute.
Anastasija Stanyte took her chance to redeem the crossbar attempt which saw another goal in the 67th minute from a well worked short corner.
Gracie Conway completed the scoring on the 68th minute with a strike from outside the box to secure Northern Ireland a comfortable 4-1 win against the Dublin side.
Full-time: Northern Ireland U16s 4-1 Shamrock Rovers
Line-ups
Northern Ireland: Abbie Smith, Caitlin Carlisle, Laura Dowie, Daisy Conway, Anastasija Stanyte, Darcie McNeill, Sophie Kelly-Bradley, Niamh Hassan, Gracie Conway, Jessica McGuinness, Kayli-ann Clayton.
Substitutes: (used) Bernie Ferreira, Olivia Campbell, Lucy Kelly, Clodagh Maguire, Sophie Pollock; (unused) Kate Smith, Sophie Hutchinson.
Shamrock Rovers: Laura Fanning, Kaitlyn Conroy, Keelin Comiskey, Kayla Maguire, Amelia Landers, Sorcha Melia, Robyn Gleeson, Della Cowper-Grey, Sophie Byrne, Mia Murtagh, Ciara Milton.
Substitutes: (used) Amy Tierney, Katie O’Reilly, Leah Colgan; (unused) Lauryn McCabe.
