Republic derby 'a different challenge' for NI

Published on: 04 December 2023

The Republic of Ireland beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in the reverse fixture in Dublin in SeptemberWomen's Nations League: Northern Ireland v Republic of IrelandVenue: Windsor Park, Belfast Date: Tuesday, 5 December Kick-off: 18:00 GMTCoverage: Live on BBC Two NI & BBC iPlayer; live text commentary and match report on the BBC Sport website

Northern Ireland manager Tanya Oxtoby says Tuesday's derby with Republic of Ireland will be a "different challenge" after Friday's 4-0 win in Albania.

The Republic have won their five Women's Nations League matches while Northern Ireland can still finish in second place in Group B1.

More than 8,000 tickets have been sold for the final match at Windsor Park.

"It will give a really good indication of where we are at so we're really looking forward to it," Oxtoby said.

After succeeding Kenny Shiels as manager, Australian Oxtoby took charge in September and her first fixture was against the Republic in Dublin, where the hosts ran out 3-0 winners.

That was followed by a 1-0 win at home to Albania and a defeat and draw with Hungary, before Friday's reverse fixture in Tirana on Friday showcased the most positive performance under Oxtoby to date.

Victory in Belfast would guarantee second place and a play-off for promotion to League A and a draw may be enough but it would depend on Hungary's result at home to Albania.

The Republic of Ireland head into the game off the back of a 1-0 victory over Hungary in Dublin and they have the opportunity to leave Belfast with six wins from six in the Nations League.

"We are going to learn a lot about ourselves," Oxtoby added.

"The Republic have been far and away the best team in this group, so we will know about the areas where we know we need to improve.

"We want to finish on a positive and we want to continue the momentum from Friday's game because I thought the girls were outstanding.

"We're talking about the fact we've been waiting for it to click and I felt like it did on Friday so we want to carry that over and push for a positive result."

Oxtoby said having the game at Windsor Park is "brilliant for the women's game" as the senior women's team get ready to play at the redeveloped stadium for the third time.

Northern Ireland's women traditionally play at Seaview stadium, which is a more compact ground but one where they are unbeaten competitively since 2019.

"We need to challenge ourselves and we need to be brave," Oxtoby added. "From a performance point of view the easy choice would have been to stay at Seaview.

"The only pressure we have is the pressure we put on ourselves. We've taken it one game at a time and asked for a 90-minute performance and we got that in the last game.

"Now we need to carry that over in a high-pressure circumstance and challenge ourselves in the best of the group.

"We played them first time around and now we are playing them last, so we'll get a good idea of where we are at and the girls are really buzzing for it.

"You want to play against teams that have quality everywhere. For us then to know where we need to look to exploit and where we need to be better."

    'I just shut down' - Northern Ireland defender Holloway on mental struggles'Funny first impressions, opposing sides & mental health'Katie McCabe says Belfast derby 'one you don't want to miss'

'Funny first impressions, opposing sides & mental health'

Republic manager Eileen Gleeson, who is set for her last match as interim manager, says her team's motivation cannot be questioned as they look to end the inaugural Nations League with a perfect record.

With Northern Ireland still having a potential play-off on the table, Gleeson, who said her time as manager has been "thoroughly enjoyable", said they cannot be taken for granted.

"They came into the campaign with a new manager and it was her first game," she added.

"As the campaign has evolved you can see their development and they have eyes on second place as well. With all the teams you have seen development throughout the campaign and managers have used the campaign as a development tool.

"I've been asked a few direct and indirect questions about our intentions around this game.

"There is no a single chance, ever, that we would not be coming here to win a keep that story going, moving forward to the Euros in 2025 and making it six from six.

"We have a really competitive squad in and we will pick a team that we think will win the game."

Source: bbc.com

Comments