Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GIRL POWER
A secretary at a university, a nurse, a prison officer and a shop worker at B&Q.. Shiels hails unlikely lasses as movie stars in waiting
NORTHERN IRELAND women’s boss Kenny Shiels believes his team’s Euro 2022 adventure has all the makings of a Hollywood movie.
Shiels’ girls upset the odds to beat Ukraine in the playoffs and qualify for next year’s finals in England and reach a major tournament for the first time in their history.
The remarkable feat and prospect of a largely amateur side mixing it with Europe’s elite next summer has grabbed the attention of the national media.
And Shiels says the underdog tale has all the ingredients to hit the big screen, although he’s not sure what famous male actor would play him in the final production.
“I would like to play myself, but they might need someone more debonair,” mused the former Kilmarnock boss after Tuesday’s 4-1 aggregate victory over Ukraine at Seaview.
“I do think they should make a film about it though – I’m serious - because most of our players are pretty much amateurs and the majority of them have jobs.
“We have nurses, a prison officer, a secretary at a university, one works at B&Q and another works in Lidl. It’s incredible what they have done.”
Nine of the 14 players who featured in Tuesday’s 2-0 home leg win over Ukraine ply their trade in the domestic league with Linfield, Glentoran, Cliftonville, Crusaders or Sion Swifts.
Shiels was also hit by a raft of injuries to key players, including record goal scorer Rachel Furness who broke her ankle in Friday’s 2-1 away leg win in Ukraine.
“We had eight starters out with injury, including four or five with ACL injuries, yet we turned Ukraine over out there and they couldn’t believe it. They were so shocked.
“We were fourth seeds in our qualifying group and nobody gave us a chance, but the cohesion and chemistry of this team is incredible.
“The likes of Scotland,
Wales and the Republic of Ireland are all out of the tournament and we have qualified.
It is like a movie.”
Shiels (right) has galvanised the women’s team since his appointment in 2019, injected a real sense of purpose and made his team incredibly hard to beat. The 64-year-old’s only two defeats in 10 competitive fixtures were to big hitters Norway in the group, while he has won his last six games, a new record for
the senior side.
“The spirit in this squad is incredible,” he said.
“When I had my first meeting with the players, I spoke about trust and we all have that trust in each other.
“We had a lot of bad luck with the number of serious injuries we had to Demi Vance (ACL), Kendra Mcmullan (ACL), Caragh Hamilton (ACL), Abbie Magee (ACL) and Megan Bell.
“I can’t believe the bad luck we had, so the players deserve all the credit for what they have achieved.
“I’m so proud of what they have done.”