Northern Ireland Women will be aiming to bounce back when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Larne later today.
Both manager Tanya Oxtoby and captain Simone Magill felt it was an opportunity missed when the senior women’s team lost to Poland in their opening game of the second edition of the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
They admitted the players and coaching staff were confident of taking something from the game prior to the encounter with the top seeds in League B Group 1 in Gdansk on Friday night, however Poland ran out 2-0 winners.
But both the boss and skipper are determined to put that disappointment behind them when they take on third seeds Bosnia and Herzegovina at Inver Park (7pm kick-off).
The Bosnians, whom Northern Ireland defeated home and away last year in the first edition of the Women’s Nations League, will be coming into the game on a high after they defeated Romania 4-0 at home in their B1 opener.
In her Manager’s View column in the matchday programme for today’s game, the Northern Ireland boss said it was a “big game” for her side, who are second seeds in the group.
And she added: “We are really excited to challenge ourselves against a very good Bosnian side and to continue on our journey.”
Oxtoby also told the BBC yesterday: “It's going to be tough and we need to assert ourselves from the start. We're really looking forward to the game. We're at home and we want to start off aggressively.
"We need to be on our game - they caused us problems in the last two games we played them. We know what to expect but we need to improve and keep our levels high. That's the challenge for this group now."
And captain Magill told media yesterday: "We've played Bosnia and Herzegovina twice very recently and we're excited going into it. It's a great opportunity for us to get some points on the board.”
Like Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina have a squad which is a blend of youth and experience.
Their forward line usually includes Milena Nikolic, who plays for Basel in Switzerland. The 32-year-old has scored 25 goals in 62 international appearances.
Nikolic was rested for the game against Romania, however she is expected to return alongside Milena Gacanica, who scored against the Romanians. The 24-year-old, who plays for Besiktas in Turkey, has 25 caps and three goals under her belt.
Also on the bench on Friday was the experienced midfielder Aida Hadzic (aged 32, 43 caps, one goal), who plays her club football with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. She is also likely to return for the game in Larne.
The Bosnians had a blend of youth and experience in the engine room against the Romanians. It included Elma Husic (aged 22, seven caps, no goals, ZNK Emina - BIH) along with Emina Ekic (aged 25, 14 caps, one goal, Spokane Zephyr - USA) and Dajana Spasojevic (aged 27, 41 caps, two goals, Crvena Zvezda - SRB).
And Sofija Krajsumovic, a 22-year-old midfielder/forward with Russian side CSKA Moscow, got on the scoresheet on Friday. It was her ninth goal in 23 international appearances.
Ahead of experienced keeper Almina Hodzic, who plays in Montenegro with FK Buducnost these days, they have a couple of young players who are marking their mark in Italy. Marija Milnkovic, who also scored against Romania, plays for Inter (28 caps, one goal) and Gloria Sliskovic (19) is with Napoli (25 caps, no goals).
Additionally the Bosnia and Herzegovina defence features two experienced operators in Melisa Hasanbegovic (aged 29, 56 caps, 13 goals) and Selma Kapetanovic (aged 28, 42 caps, one goal). They both play their club football for Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia.
Tickets for the game at Inver Park are still available at irishfa.com/tickets
Training at Inver Park
