Northern Ireland on the right track ahead of Play-Off clash, says Tanya Oxtoby
Tanya Oxtoby's Northern Ireland side face Montenegro in the Nations League Play-Off
Northern Ireland’s Nadene Caldwell during Wednesday night's training session ahead of Friday’s UEFA Women's Nations League play-off against Montenegro
Northern Ireland’s Ellie Mason and Chloe McCarron during Wednesday night's training session
The word journey has been repeated on a regular basis by Northern Ireland players in recent years.
As the women’s team has travelled on an upward trajectory never experienced before they have constantly reflected on where they have come from and where they are aiming to get to.
When the Irish FA asked Kenny Shiels to pull over and exit the vehicle just over a year ago after taking the team on a trip of a lifetime to the Women’s Euro 2022 Finals it seemed that they were destined for a detour, albeit to the same ultimate destination of a second consecutive Euros in Switzerland next year.
When Tanya Oxtoby jumped into the driving seat she always knew that she would get a test drive through the inaugural Women’s Nations League tournament.
Northern Ireland’s Nadene Caldwell during Wednesday night's training session ahead of Friday’s UEFA Women's Nations League play-off against Montenegro
The results were mixed — two comfortable wins over Albania, a home draw and a heartbreaking late defeat against Hungary and defeats to the Republic of Ireland. If the first of those, a 3-0 loss in Dublin without registering a shot on target in her opening game, gave Oxtoby a glimpse of the job ahead, the 6-1 thumping at Windsor Park was a real eye opener.
Oxtoby expected that and more than two months later she believes that Northern Ireland are on the right track — and ready to engage forward gears again ahead of a new
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