Northern Ireland midfielder Joely Andrews said that her side “have to bounce back” against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday after their disappointing Women’s Nations League defeat against Poland.
At Seaview on Friday night Tanya Oxtoby’s side suffered a 4-0 loss against Poland, who secured automatic promotion to League A with the win in north Belfast.
NI are second in the group and will secure that spot and a place in the promotion play-offs if they avoid defeat in Zenica on Tuesday, which Andrews says has to be their aim.
“If we finish a place higher in this group [NI finished third in their previous Nations League campaign] it will be progress,” she said.
“We are looking for a good performance and ultimately to get three points on Tuesday.
“Us and Bosnia know each other inside out, we’ve played each other a few times so it will be tough, but we need to be hard to break down but good on the ball and create chances.”
The Hearts midfielder added that while Friday night’s defeat at Seaview “hurt”, their spirited end to the game when they almost scored a consolation goal will give them confidence as they move onto Tuesday’s crucial game.
“We weren’t good enough in the first half and there were bits of the game plan we didn’t execute but as players we take responsibility for that,” she continued.
“The positive thing is in the second half we got a bit more control and we could create some more chances.”
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