Kenny Shiels, the Northern Ireland manager, has a chat with the BBC: “I think 1-0, 2-0 was a bit fair… they weren’t predominantly better than us but they were in the key areas. 2-0 was probably about right.
“You look at the perspective of where we are, and where Austria are, in terms of where they’ve reached in the women’s game, and they’ve one of the best women’s academies in Europe. It’s just a really tough opponent … but the players are gaining experience from these tough games. We’ve got another one coming, and none bigger than England.”
Can they close the gap on the top teams? “I can’t say that. It’s going to take … when you look at where we where, when we came in … we’ve reached this level too soon. Because there’s no way we can transform a team in two years, the way we have done, and take it further than that just immediately. There’s lots of developmental stuff we need to to with the players and the 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds, we’ve got to get them ready to step up into the senior international team.
“Winning the match is important … but I have a priority in my head where, if it looks like we’re not going to win it, let’s give the younger ones some experience, because they’ll be around for a lot of years yet. And we have to try and revisit that as much as we can.”
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Nick Ames is our writer on the scene at St Mary’s. Read his match report here:
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Northern Ireland’s Sarah McFadden speaks to the BBC and is asked how close she feels they came to getting something from the match: “Really close, we’re just gutted, second half and the end of the first half we got at them, and we just didn’t capitalise … we just didn’t get a clear-cut chance. We’re just gutted, we thought today was the day we were going to get the win at these championships.
“We were so in the game … we put so much into that first half. We’ve got people in the changing room, knackered, like, we’re putting it all in, and then we thought we’d go out the second half and get the goal. But Austria are a team of superstars, they’ve got two, three players who play in the best leagues in the world, and when the going gets tough, you can see how they can turn the screw, and that’s what killed us in the end.”
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“We gave it everything.”
They sure did. A fine effort.
We gave it everything but it ends in defeat against Austria. #ANewDream #GAWA #WEURO2022 pic.twitter.com/UjQucRfl8v
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) July 11, 2022
Norway, England and Austria are all now on three points in Group A. Should either England or Norway or win tonight, they will be through to the knockout stages.
Full-time! Austria 2-0 Northern Ireland
An accomplished display by Austria at St Mary’s results in a comfortable win, and kickstarts their efforts to qualify from Group A following a narrow opening defeat by England. Northern Ireland competed extremely well and got through an absolute mountain of defending. But the intelligence and creativity with which Austria used the ball shone through, and constantly caused Kenny Shiels’s side problems. Goals from Scheichtl and Naschenweng were the difference. Barring some remarkable permutations, Northern Ireland will be going out. They did have the occasional glimpse of goal but in truth, did not genuinely trouble their opponents, or the Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.
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90 min +2: An effort by Puntinger is deflected wide to keep the deficit at two.
90 min: There will be four minutes of added time. Austria continue to charge forward, they want more goals.
Goal! 88 min: Austria 2-0 Northern Ireland (Naschenweng)
It’s been a gallant effort by Northern Ireland but it hasn’t been quite enough. McGee misjudges an angled ball floated to the Austrian left and misses it. The substitute Naschenweng shows a few touches of real class by bringing the ball down, sprinting beyond McFadden, and clipping a composed left-footed shot which brushes Burns on the way through to the bottom corner. A top-quality finish.
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86 min: Austria still have their foot on Northern Ireland’s throat. Feiersinger belts a right-footed shot from the edge of the box that swerves over the goal, but not by much. The fans from both teams urge their teams on to one final effort ...
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83 min: Dunst hits a speculative shot from distance which is deflected safely into the hands of Burns. Austria are still dominating territory and possession. You do just sense that Northern Ireland will generate one more chance, even if they have largely struggled to penetrate the opposing defence.
80 min: Furness and McGuinness go off for Northern Ireland, with Joely Andrews and Emily Wilson brought on by Kenny Shiels.
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78 min: Dunst whips a ball in from the Austria right. Burns is caught in two minds, whether to kick or catch, but eventually does the former and gets rid of it. But only just. Northern Ireland have to get busy: two defeats from two will mean they are going home barring miracles.
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75 min: Katharina Naschenweng is on for Austria, in place of Hickelsberger-Fuller. For Northern Ireland Abbie Magee has come on for Rebecca McKenna.
After possession is coughed up easily by Northern Ireland, Naschenweng looks to make an immediate impact and hits a shot from distance which Burns deals with comfortably.
72 min: A ‘cooling break’ for the players as we move into the final 20 minutes. Can Northern Ireland find something?
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67 min: McGuinness does superbly to beat two, three defenders and cracks a low cross into the six-yard box. It’s cleared, but Northern Ireland win a corner ... Furness gets her head on the ball again after that corner is worked across to the other side of the field and the ball is sent back in, but can’t get the effort on target.
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66 min: Northern Ireland have battled hard and kept their shape. It would be fully deserved if they can get something out of this. Now Wade runs into space on the counterattack for Shiels’s side after an Austrian corner is cleared. But the move breaks down with the Austria defence swarming all over Northern Ireland.
64 min: Scheichtl drills a good cross into the area for Austria. It’s half-cleared but the ball falls to Dunst, who expertly chests it down and hits a sweet half-volley which is rising and arrowing into the roof of the net. Burns fumbles it and is relieved to see the ball deflect out over the crossbar and out for a corner rather than into the net!
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60 min: Northern Ireland nearly get in a muddle at the back. Vance plays a high-risk pass across her own area. Dunst successfully closes it down and nearly tackles Nelson in her own penalty area, but the ball squirts out for a goal kick.
56 min: Austria play it out from the back impressively, bypassing the Northern Ireland press with some sharp passing and movement. Billa eventually gets on the end of a low ball slid towards the byline on the Northern Ireland right – she tries to hit a cross-shot but it skews off the side of her boot and into the side netting. Still, the start of that move was another demonstration of how well Austria move the ball.
52 min: Vance makes inroads down the Northern Ireland left. McGuinness then fights for a corner moments later, but a promising situation ends in a throw-in for Austria. In truth Northern Ireland lack a little bit of quality on the ball in comparison to the accomplished Austria side, but they still have every chance of getting something from this match.
48 min: Ralph Hassenhüttl, the Southampton manager, is pictured up in the stands sporting a smart suit and dark sunglasses. On the pitch, Austria have a sniff of goal for a moment after a steady start to the second half, but Northern Ireland clear the danger.
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47 min: “I’ve been impressed with Northern Ireland,” emails Kári Tulinius. “While there are five or six teams that are on another level to the rest of the field, the others are all good teams, at least based on the first round of matches. The gap between the top sides and the next tier has never felt so small. The result is that there hasn’t been a dull game yet.”
Second-half kick-off!
Here we go for the second half. Can Kenny Shiels’s team get back into this? Two changes for Austria: the forward Hobinger has gone off for Feiersinger, a midfielder, with Schnaderbeck off for Georgieva in defence.
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Half-time! Austria 1-0 Northern Ireland
Austria are well worth the lead given to them on 19 minutes by Scheichtl. However, Northern Ireland have shown a couple of bright moments, and there is all to play for in the second half.
England are up later, against Norway, so here’s a bit of pre-match reading from Suzanne Wrack:
See you in a few minutes for more.
45 min: McGuinness hits a clean strike from the edge of the area, left-footed, but Zinsberger catches it cleanly. It was straight at her.
44 min: Wenninger appears to push McFadden in the back as a cross comes over into the Austria box. That looked like a foul, or certainly worth a VAR check, at least. Northern Ireland then win a couple of corners. Furness heads the second one vaguely in the direction of the goal from the second of those set-pieces, but she’s falling backwards and cannot get any power into it. Austria clear.
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42 min: Burns collects a back-pass, having moved out to the right of her goal, but then gives the ball straight to Dunst. Dunst needs no second invitation to curl a goalbound shot, trying to lob Burns, but the Northern Irish goalkeeper does incredibly well to tip it on to the crossbar!
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41 min: McFadden crunches into an excellent tackle on Hickelsberger-Fuller, taking the ball and a bit of her opponent, too. A fierce but fair challenge. Northern Ireland had a glimpse of goal moments before that, for the first time in a long time.
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37 min: Hanshaw bends a free-kick into the danger zone. Northern Ireland clear, but then Burns nearly gifts the ball to an opponent with a side-footed pass intended for one of her centre-backs. Shiels is now pictured remonstrating with his players from the sideline, clearly unhappy with something defensively. The good news for him and his team is that it’s only 1-0. It certainly could have been more.
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33 min: Now it’s Hanshaw’s turn to cause Northern Ireland damage, rampaging down the left wing to collect a pass and hold the ball up in the corner. Puntigam then shows good skill near the edge of the penalty area and threatens to play in a teammate. It’s difficult to remember the last time Northern Ireland got anywhere near the Austria goal. Zinsberger has had one save to make, a comfortable one, but it’s been a day off for her apart from that. So far, I should add.
32 min: A couple of good bits of link-up play from Billa helps to smooth Austria’s possession along. Billa looks very comfortable with her back to goal, using her strength to hold the ball up and play in her teammates. It’s proving very difficult for Northern Ireland to deal with.
28 min: The players take a pause for a drinks break.
An email from Dirk Vandegraaf arrives, entitled: WEATHER REPORT: “It is 25C in the shadow. In the stadium there is no wind. So the air is blocked and heated up. That’s why the difference is so big.”
Thanks Dirk. Don’t quite remember a 17C difference before (25C v 42C). But I’ll take your word for it.
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24 min: Billa is caught offside trying to run on to a ball into the left channel. Burns, nevertheless, did well to come off her line and clear.
“Any reason why NI are in white for the second game in a row?” asks Redmond Grimes.
I’ll be honest, Redmond, I don’t know. Anyone?
22 min: McFadden’s fine sliding clearance stops it from being 2-0 almost immediately, with Austria streaming forward in attack once again.
Goal! 19 min: Austria 1-0 Northern Ireland (Scheichtl)
Puntigam whips a low free-kick into the mixer. It flicks off the two-woman defensive wall, and falls perfectly for Werder Bremen’s Scheichtl to glance the ball into the net with her right boot. You can’t say that hadn’t been coming given the all-round quality of Austria’s play. Defensively it was a bit soft, perhaps, but that’s a measure of the pressure that Northern Ireland have been under.
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18 min: Dunst is a real livewire on the left for Austria. In general, they are all over Northern Ireland here and they look by far the better side. Now Vance hacks down Hickelsberger-Fuller on the edge of the box, and there are more nervous times for Kenny Shiels’s side.
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16 min: Billa pounces on a defensive mix-up and a low cross is sent in towards Zadrazil. Burns rushes off her line, and does well to stop Austria’s Zadrazil from getting a clean contact on an attempted effort from the near post.
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14 min: “Although I understand the sentiment, my immediate reaction to Rachel Furness holding up Simone Magill’s shirt was horror. Don’t they remember that’s what David Luiz did before a certain 7-1 thrashing to Germany?
“Yours, hoping the GAWA can buck that admittedly mini trend! Michael Gibson, a Northern Irishman in Hackney.”
12 min: Better from Northern Ireland, who have been under a lot of pressure early doors. Wade collects a long ball forward and embarks on a mazy run, gliding into a central position about 25 yards out. She shoots on target but the Arsenal goalie, Zinsberger, makes a comfortable enough save.
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10 min: Northern Ireland attack through McGuinness on their left flank. She is isolated and the move breaks down – leaving Hickelsberger-Fuller to embark on an excellent driving run through the heart of the Northern Irish midfield. She caps that with a fine angled through-ball for Billa, who has a sight of goal, and cracks a low left-shooted shot into the side netting. Another warning for Northern Ireland ...
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7 min: Dunst floats a lovely curling cross from the left for Hickelsberger-Fuller. Holloway tries to track back, and her presence seems to be enough for Hickelsberger-Fuller to fluff her attempted header. That was a classy piece of work by Dunst to create the chance.
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6 min: McGuinness fouls Hobinger on the Austria right. A chance to hoist a set-piece into the area for Austria ... but the goalkeeper Burns is well positioned to snaffle the free-kick after it’s sent towards the six-yard box.
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4 min: Hanshaw pumps an angled cross into the Northern Ireland area. It’s headed clear, but Austria immediately come forward again, a lovely bit of link-up play by Billa punching a hole in the defence. Northern ireland manage to repel the threat again.
2 min: Zadrazil, a creative force in the Austria attack who is always bursting with ideas, tries to make something happen in midfield but Northern Ireland deal with the danger. It’s a solid start from both defences.
First half kick-off!
Here we go! Austria wear red jerseys, white shorts and red socks. Northern Ireland are sporting white shirts with black shorts and socks.
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There will be a water break midway through the first half.
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Time for the national anthems. There’s a healthy crowd in at St Mary’s and they are making a serious noise, too. Austria’s players gee each other up and applaud at the conclusion of the anthem.
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It’s forecast to drop a couple of degrees during the match, which will be a welcome development for the players. I’m not entirely sure how it can be 42C pitchside when the Southampton weather forecast says it’s 25C there at the moment. That seems like an unrealistically large difference. It sure is hot, anyway.
Now, the teams are in the tunnel, ready to walk out on the pitch.
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Kenny Shiels, the Northern Ireland manager, has a chat with the BBC: “It’s only our second game. It’s a mighty task, but we relish it, and the players will relish it, and everybody in Northern Ireland, I hope, will be excited about it … We want to send a message back home that we’re not in it just for fun.
“I think it’s 42C [pitchside], it’s quite high that, highest I’ve ever remembered, we’re actually in the UK … the Spanish players will even suffer in this. I feel it. Who benefits from that, I don’t know. With fatigue, comes mistakes, and that will definitely bring a lot of fatigue to both sets of players. So there might be a lot of mistakes in the game, I don’t know.”
42C! Whoah. That is going to be tough for the players.
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With every team at the tournament now having played once, Geyoro is the only player with more than one goal to her name. See the golden boot standings here:
What are your predictions? What are your hopes? You can contact me by email or on Twitter with your thoughts on the match. Get in touch!
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France made history not once but twice in their 5-1 win against Italy last night. They became the first side to score five before half-time at the Women’s Euros, not to mention the fact that Grace Geyoro became the first player to notch a hat-trick within the first 45 minutes, too.
Read Peter Lansley’s match report here:
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Kick-off will be coming up in 45 minutes:
Why not have a look at out complete guide to all 368 players at Euro 2022?
Northern Ireland’s captain Marissa Callaghan has said her side will play Monday’s Women’s Euro 2022 match against Austria in honour of their injured striker Simone Magill. Magill sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Northern Ireland’s opening game, a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Norway in Group A.
Team news
The captain Marissa Callaghan returns as one of four changes for Northern Ireland’s Euro 2022 clash with Austria in Southampton. The veteran midfielder, who came off the bench during her country’s 4-1 Group A defeat by Norway after recovering from injury, is recalled in addition to Rebecca McKenna, Kirsty McGuinness and Rebecca Holloway.
The forward Simone Magill is absent after suffering a tournament-ending knee injury against Norway, while Kelsie Burrows, Nadene Caldwell and Abbie Magee drop to the bench. Austria make three changes, bringing in Katharina Schiechtl, Marie Hobinger and Julia Hickelsberger-Fuller. The Arsenal defender Laura Wienroither is absent for the Austria due to a positive Covid-19 test. (PA Media)
Austria (4-1-4-1): Zinsberger; Scheichtl, Wenninger, Schnaderbeck, Hanshaw; Puntigam; Hickelsberger-Fuller, Zadrazil, Höbinger; Dunst; Billa.
Northern Ireland (4-4-2): Burns; Vance, McFadden, Nelson, McKenna; Holloway, McCarron, Callaghan, Furness; McGuinness, Wade.
Referee: Emikar Caldera Barrera (Venezuela). Assistant referees: Migdalia Rodriguez Chirino (Venezuela) and Mary Blanco Bolivar (Colombia). Fourth official: Marta Huerta De Aza (Spain).
🚨 Team news 🚨
— UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 11, 2022
Austria 🆚 Northern Ireland
🔑 Who'll be the key player at St Mary's? #WEURO2022
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Preamble
Group A always looked a very difficult proposition for Northern Ireland on their international tournament debut, and a knee ligament injury suffered by the forward Simone Magill in last Thursday’s opening 4-1 defeat by Norway has made it tougher still.
The mood in camp remains upbeat, however, and the captain Marissa Callaghan believes Magill’s misfortune can even galvanise the squad to achieve victory in their teammate’s honour at St Mary’s this evening.
Austria gave the tournament hosts England an uncomfortable evening in the opening match, but like Northern Ireland, arrive here having played one, lost one. Neither side can realistically afford to lose if they are going to progress from this fiendishly tough group, so it’s effectively knockout football on the menu this evening.
Pre-match reading, team news and much more coming up.
Kick-off: 5pm
