Northern Ireland manager Tanya Oxtoby pleased to secure League B status in Nations League but seeks improvement from her squad

Northern Ireland women's manager Tanya Oxtoby was pleased to see her side avoid relegation to League C of the Nations League - but knows there is room for improvement by her side.
By Johnny McNabb
Published 27th Feb 2024, 22:27 GMT
Northern Ireland’s Simone Magill heads off to celebrate scoring against Montenegro in the UEFA Women's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off second-leg 1-1 draw at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. The equaliser left Northern Ireland home by 3-1 on aggregate to preserve League B status in the tournament. (Photo by William Cherry/PressEye)Northern Ireland’s Simone Magill heads off to celebrate scoring against Montenegro in the UEFA Women's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off second-leg 1-1 draw at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. The equaliser left Northern Ireland home by 3-1 on aggregate to preserve League B status in the tournament. (Photo by William Cherry/PressEye)
Northern Ireland’s Simone Magill heads off to celebrate scoring against Montenegro in the UEFA Women's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off second-leg 1-1 draw at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. The equaliser left Northern Ireland home by 3-1 on aggregate to preserve League B status in the tournament. (Photo by William Cherry/PressEye)

The Green and White Army sealed a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their promotion/relegation against Montenegro to win 3-1 overall on aggregate.

Tanya Oxtoby’s side held a 2-0 lead from the counterpart fixture in Pogdorica and played out a goalless first half at Windsor Park before Medina Desic’s 66th-minute header raised the tension in Belfast.

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However, Simone Magill would calm those fears as she converted into an empty net following good work from substitutes Danielle Maxwell and Ellie Mason to ensure Northern Ireland preserved their League B status.

"I think we got drawn into a transitional game, which is not what we wanted to, from our perspective, we wanted to be able to control it a little bit more with the ball,” Oxtoby told BBC Sport NI after the full-time whistle.

"We still created a load of chances and probably could have been a bit more clinical, but for me it is the control within the game that's the bit we need to learn from.

"We started slow and had to try and claw our way back into it. I thought the changes we made helped with that. Like I said, just a little bit more composure and control in the game with the ball, then we don't get ourselves into a transitional situation going both ways and the game gets stretched.

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"Our aim was always to stay in this group, so from that perspective it's job done but there are learnings from tonight from our perspective and we'll take those and we will continue to develop and grow in our journey."

Oxtoby said that she and the rest of the management team will “analyse” the two performances against Montenegro ahead of European qualification games in April, with the draw being made next week (March 5).

She added: "Every game I've been in charge has been a competitive game. I haven't had a friendly yet. We're on a journey and we'll continually learning and that was another good example of that tonight. We'll go and analyse it and see where we are at."