"We don't celebrate defeat, but the performance was exceptional. We have to celebrate that. I think the way in which the players executed the gameplan, we haven't conceded from open play. The first one [goal] is frustrating because I think it's really preventable from our point of view, but we'll learn from that. It's 2-0, we're still in the tie. There are improvements to be made, but, overall, I'm really proud of the group."
"When you play good teams, you're not going to have the ball as much and you're going to have to suffer. Who are you going to be in those moments? I think we saw that, what the group is about. They stuck together. If one got beaten, the next one was in. We didn't necessarily want to be too expansive and push necessarily for a goal. We wanted to stay in our shape and look to counter."
Northern Ireland lost the home leg 2-0 to Iceland in the Nations League promotion/relegation play-off. Iceland took the lead on 31 minutes when Glodis Viggosdottir nodded Karolina Vilhjalmsdottir's free-kick past Jackie Burns. Ingibjorg Sigurdardottir headed home another free-kick in the 75th minute. Northern Ireland defended resolutely and did not concede from open play, but continued to struggle with set-pieces. Several first-team players were unavailable through injury and suspension. Debutant Mia Moore and Emily Wilson produced half-chances, while the team maintained a shape-focused, counter-attacking gameplan. The tie remains open ahead of the return fixture, with room for improvement.
Read at www.bbc.com
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