Donaghy hopes NI make strides in Home Nations futsal mission

CIARAN Donaghy is determined that Northern Ireland won’t be welcoming hosts when the Futsal Home Nations Championship gets under way at Newry Leisure Centre tonight.

The former Cliftonville and Crusaders defender is targeting victory over Scotland, not only to give Northern Ireland the perfect start but to set them up for tougher tests against Wales and England over the weekend.

And with World Cup qualifiers to come early in 2019 — the first time a Northern Ireland senior men’s team has entered one of the major tournaments in futsal, the indoor five-a-side variant of football — Home Nations pride isn’t all that is at stake.

“This is the third year of the tournament and the first one, two years ago, was also the first time that we had played compet- itively,” said Donaghy. “We’re a very different team now. We have learned a lot regarding the rules and developed tactically too.

“We drew with Scotland the last time we played them. We play them in our opening game and that’s the one we will be targeting. Wales and England are a step up, but if we can get a good start then hopefully, with a bit of confidence, we can put on a good show in the other games.

“This is a great opportunity for people to get behind us. I’ve played at Under-19 international level and, while this is a different type of game, every time you wear that Northern Ireland shirt it gives you a lot of pride.”

Futsal Home Nations Championship schedule (All games at Newry Leisure Centre): Friday: