Northern Ireland B national football team

Northern Ireland B

Nickname(s)	Green & White Army, Norn Iron
Association	Irish Football Association
Head coach	Nigel Worthington
Most caps	5 Pat McGibbon (1995-1999)
Top scorer	3 Derek Dougan (1957-1959)
Home stadium	Windsor Park / Mourneview Park / Coleraine Showgrounds
FIFA code	NIR
Home colours Away colours
First international
Northern Ireland 6-0, Romania B October 23, 1957
Biggest win
Northern Ireland 6-0, Romania B October 23, 1957
Biggest defeat
France B 5-0  Northern Ireland, March 16, 1960

Northern Ireland B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the Northern Ireland national football team. Primarily seen as a stepping-stone between the Under-21 and Full international teams, the matches are also used to give a run-out for fringe players and to honour Irish League players who would not otherwise gain international recognition. Matches are rarely played by Northern Ireland at this level due to their limited player pool necessitating rapid elevation of young players to the 'Full' squad.

Matches have been played against other football associations' 'B' teams and against various national "selects".

History

The Northern Ireland 'B' team made its first appearance in 1957, playing against Rumania 'B' who were not deemed worthy of a 'Full' international (note: Romania was commonly referred to as Rumania in the English language up until the 1980s). The occasion of October 23, 1957 marked the first use of the Windsor Park floodlights for an international fixture. A one sided match finished 6-0 with a hat-trick from Derek Dougan and further goals from Sammy McCrory, Sammy Chapman and Jackie Scott.

The match against Rumania was followed up with two matches against France B in 1959 and 1960 before Under-23 international matches became de rigueur in the 1960s. The 'B' format re-emerged in the 1990s as national teams focussed on Under-21 rather than Under-23 matches and thus a "stepping stone" from Under-21 to 'Full' was required.

Northern Ireland's most recent match at 'B' level was against Scotland B in May 2009.

Fixtures

None

Previous Matches

Performance Record:

P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd
11	4	1	6	16	19	-3

Date	Opponent	Score	Venue
23 October 1957	Rumania B	6-0	Windsor Park, Belfast
11 November 1959	France B	1-1	Windsor Park, Belfast
16 March 1960	France B	0-5	Stade du Coteau, Annecy
10 May 1994	England B	2-4	Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield
21 February 1995	Scotland B	0-3	Easter Road, Edinburgh
26 March 1996	Norway Olympic XI	3-0	The Showgrounds, Coleraine
28 March 1997	Portugal Under-21	2-0	Mourneview Park, Lurgan
11 February 1998	Republic of Ireland B	1-0	Tolka Park, Dublin
9 February 1999	Wales B	0-1	The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
20 May 2003	Scotland Future	1-2	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
6 May 2009	Scotland B	0-3	Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld

Squad for most recent game

(vs. Scotland B, May 6, 2009)

Goalkeepers

• Jonathan Tuffey (Partick Thistle)
• Trevor Carson (Sunderland)

Defenders

• Robbie Weir (Sunderland)
• Chris Casement (Wycombe Wanderers)
• Adam Chapman (Oxford United)
• Ryan McGivern (Manchester City)
• Scott Gibb (Stirling Albion)
• Jeff Hughes* (Bristol Rovers)
• Daniel Laftery (Celtic)
• Shane Duffy (Everton)
• Craig Cathcart* (Manchester United)
• Rory McArdle* (Rochdale)

Midfielders

• Michael O'Connor (Crewe Alexandra)
• Corry Evans (Manchester United)
• Niall McGinn (Celtic)
• Robert Garrett (Linfield)
• Pat McCourt (Celtic)
• Oliver Norwood (Manchester United)
• Shane Ferguson (Newcastle United)
• Martin Donnolly* (Crusaders)

Forwards

• Andrew Little (Rangers)
• Curtis Allen* (Lisburn Distillery)
• James Lawrie (Port Vale)
• Dean Shiels* (Doncaster Rovers)
• Josh McQuoid (AFC Bournemouth)
• Jamie Ward* (Sheffield United)

• * Player withdrew from final squad.

Other previous players

Goalkeepers

• Alan Fettis
• Roy Carroll
• David Miskelly
• Elliott Morris
• Tom Evans

Defenders

• Iain Jenkins
• Pat McGibbon
• Colin Murdock
• Darren Patterson
• Aaron Hughes
• Keith Rowland
• Peter Kennedy
• Barry Hunter
• Stephen Craigan
• Mike Duff
• Danny Griffin
• Gareth McAuley
• Paul Morgan
• Chris Baird

Midfielders

• Jon McCarthy
• Danny Sonner
• Philip Mulryne
• Stephen Robinson
• Michael O'Neill
• Danny Lennon
• Jeff Whitley
• Tommy Doherty
• Grant McCann
• Wayne Carlisle
• Stuart Elliott
• Steve Jones
• Shaun Holmes
• Jim Whitley

Forwards

• Gerry McMahon
• George O'Boyle
• David Healy
• Rory Hamill
• Gary Hamilton
• Andy Kirk
• Andy Smith

Former coaches

(Record: Played Won-Drawn-Lost)

• Peter Doherty 1957-1959 (2 1-1-0)
• Len Graham 1960 (1 0-0-1)^[1]
• Bryan Hamilton 1994-1997 (4 2-0-2)
• Roy Millar 1998 (1 1-0-0)
• Lawrie McMenemy 1999 (1 0-0-1)
• Sammy McIlroy 2003 (1 0-0-1)

References

1. ^ Daily Mirror Northern ireland Soccer Yearbook 2008-09 (ed. Malcolm Brodie) Page 112

External links

• Scotland Future-Northern Ireland 'B' Match Report
• Northern Ireland B Internationals at NIFG