Northern Ireland's Tanya Oxtoby celebrates 'growth' as draw sets up Women's Nations League play-off
Northern Ireland senior women’s manager Tanya Oxtoby has highlighted the squad “growth” behind securing a welcome Nations League play-off shot.
A 1-1 draw away to Bosnia & Herzegovina, with Simone Magill the Northern Ireland scorer, has now set up October focus for a side second in the League B Group 1 standings.
Having finished third across the previous edition of the UEFA Women’s Nations League, Oxtoby is relishing continued progress ahead of facing either Austria, Belgium, Denmark or Iceland from League A later in the year.
"It's always a difficult place to come with the travel, I thought we should have scored a few more in the first half and we conceded a sloppy one," said Oxtoby on BBC Sport NI. “But to show the character to see the game out...that's all that matters at this point.
"In international football there are no easy games, I said all along every game was going to be competitive in this group and you have to show the character and resilience.
"You have to win when it's not pretty and get results when it's not pretty and we've certainly done that when there have been times previously when we haven't, so for me, that is growth."
An opportunity to reach League A for the first time arrives as a collective effort.
"When you talk about the culture of the group, everyone adds value and contributes to what we're doing," said Oxtoby on BBC Sport NI before Friday’s draw. "I said to the players whether you played or not you have contributed to the success of the group, it takes everyone.
"The travel day wasn't exactly smooth but to see the way the group look after each other in the airport that pleases me no end because that is the foundation you build team character and resilience on."
Northern Ireland made the trip to Zenica aware any result other than defeat would cement that play-off prize and Magill broke the deadlock with her 28th international goal to cap Rebecca Holloway’s driving approach play.
It was 1-1 before the break off a composed Sofija Krajusumovic finish.
NORTHERN IRELAND: Burns, Holloway, Dugdale, Mason, Wade, McPartlan, Bell, Andrews, McKenna, Maxwell, Magill.
Subs: A.Smith, K.Smith, Furness, Kerr, Johnson, Halliday, Caldwell, McDaniel, Wilson, Hamilton, Weir, Sweetlove.