Relief and joy as leader Magill saves hot and cold NI

Simone Magill hit a 93rd minute winner as Northern Ireland defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina

Simone Magill turned and punched the air as the final whistle blew at Inver Park.

Northern Irelands captain and talismanic striker, Magill was the hero with two late goals to stun Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Despite a dominant opening 45 minutes from Northern Ireland, they were staring in the face of a fourth consecutive defeat after the Bosnians hit a quickfire double after a restart.

But up stepped Magill, who produced a captains performance with two late goals.

In the 89th minute, she headed Ellie Masons long ball into the bottom corner to drag her side level.

The same combination worked again in the 93rd minute as Magill controlled Masons pass and tucked the ball into the bottom corner.

She had rescued her side from the brink, and there was joy and relief around the ground in equal measure.

"To win a game like that, thats why you play the game and love football so much," Magill said after the game.

"Im extremely happy now but we didnt make that easy on ourselves.

"Im so proud of the character of the group, not only did we come back but we didnt settle for a draw.

"We pushed on for the three points. To do that, and the way that we did it, Im really happy."

It was a strange game for Northern Ireland, who went from being in complete control to looking shell-shocked in the space of five minutes after half-time.

Tanya Oxtobys side took a deserved first-half lead through Brenna McPartlands header, but they allowed Bosnia into the game.

First of all, less than 60 seconds after the restart, Emina Ekic was allowed to run unchallenged from her own half to slot home the equaliser.

Three minutes later, a poor clearance by Rachel Dugdale was punished when Marija Milinkovic fired home a stunning 20-yard effort off the post.

While Tuesdays game had a happy ending, not being able to string a full 90-minute performance together can be a frustration when you see what Northern Ireland are capable of in fits and starts.

Another worrying trend is the quickfire concession of goals, which also happened against Poland on Friday and again in the first leg of the Euro 2025 play-off with Norway before Christmas.

Magill admits there was an "element of complacency" after dominating the first half, and her side must learn from that heading into Aprils double-header with Romania.

"Thats what we were going after, we wanted to be in control of the game," Magill said.

"I think with control comes an element of complacency, and if we look at the second half thats exactly what did happen.

"Ultimately, we do need to learn from those moments at the start of the second half. That cant happen again."

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Magill late show rescues Nations League win for Northern Ireland

After Octobers Euro 2025 play-off victory over Croatia, when Lauren Wade scored an extra-time winner, NI could not build on that winning moment against European giants Norway as they missed out on reaching this summers tournament.

But this time, they will be favourites against Romania and have a real opportunity to carry the momentum and feeling from Tuesdays game into that window.

Magill believes the resilience shown by Northern Ireland can be "the springboard" for Oxtobys youthful team going forward.

The Birmingham City striker will get the headlines, and rightly so after her heroics, but there were others who played their part.

The 30-year-old praised 18-year-old striker Kascie Weir, making her first start, defender Mason, who provided the two late assists, and substitute Emily Wilson, who was impressive with her aggressive approach on the wing.

"Its how we reacted after that, thats what Im really proud of.

"Weve spoken a lot about the growth of this team, and it would have been really easy to go into our shell and not chase after the game to go and get something.

"When we scored the equaliser, we ran straight back to get the ball to go again. Its a credit to everyone that we got the win."