Dale Taylor: My first Northern Ireland goal is coming soon

Strikers Dale Taylor and Josh Magennis were all smiles during Northern Ireland’s clash with San Marino

Dale Taylor believes his first goal for Northern Ireland is not far away after going so close against San Marino on Saturday.

The Nottingham Forest striker, on loan at Wycombe Wanderers, had the ball in the Windsor Park net in the first half at the weekend only for an offside decision to halt his celebrations, and then, after a break, he was just off-target after racing clear.

If he continues to put himself in those positions, the 19-year-old has the ability to get off the mark at international level sooner rather than later.

Even without scoring in the 3-0 victory over San Marino in the Euro 2024 qualifier, the former Linfield player impressed in a frontline alongside Josh Magennis and Paul Smyth after finding out the day before he would make his first competitive start for Northern Ireland.

“I found out on Friday. We were doing set-pieces and phases of play, and I knew the team from then,” said Taylor.

“Playing up front with Josh and Paul was good, as they are two top players and obviously experienced and I could learn from them. Going into the game, I was a bit nervous, as I should be, and they helped me through it. They were great.

“Before the match, I saw my family in the crowd, and that calmed me a bit. When I was standing singing the national anthem, I was thinking, ‘yeah, I’m ready for this’.

“I’m just from around the corner and it is every boy’s dream to play at Windsor Park, and especially start in front of all the fans, so big credit to the gaffer (Michael O’Neill) for putting his trust in me to do that.”

On the offside ‘goal’, Taylor says: “I knew I was offside, but I saw the ball come off the defender’s leg