Watch: Northern Ireland beat Ukraine in first leg of Euro 2022 play-offNorthern Ireland will “give it everything” to secure Euro 2022 qualification against Ukraine on Tuesday but know there is “a long way to go”, says Simone Magill.
Magill scored in NI’s 2-1 play-off first-leg win over Ukraine on Friday.
The Everton forward believes the result will give NI “confidence” for the return leg in Belfast, but is aware of the challenge that still lies ahead.
“We’ve been underdogs our whole lives,” said Magill.
“The team has gotten this far being an underdog and we recognise that, but we love a challenge.
“We came here confident and we will be the same going into Tuesday, but we recognise that there’s still a long way to go and a big 90 minutes ahead of us.
“We’ll give it everything to get it over the line.”
Rachel Furness and Simone Magill give NI victory over Ukraine in play-off first legRachel Furness fired Northern Ireland into an early lead in Kovalivka before Daryna Apanaschenko’s equaliser for the hosts.
Magill scored NI’s second away goal with a clinical finish 12 minutes into the second half, but admitted that “it wasn’t one of our best performances”.
“We know we can do a lot better,” she added.
“Going into Tuesday, we’re going to work on keeping the ball better and do more of what we’re good at.
“We got a good result to take us into Tuesday and hopefully we can build on that and just get the ball out from the back and just keeping it and doing the things we’re really good at.”
NI boss Shiels says his side have a dangerous lead ahead of Tuesday’s second leg in BelfastNorthern Ireland ‘ultra-cautious’ of expectations – ShielsManager Kenny Shiels was pleased with how his players battled to secure a positive result but echoed Magill by calling for an improved performance in Tuesday’s second leg.
“I felt we weren’t as fluent as we have been and we have a dangerous lead,” said Shiels, who guided NI to a fifth consecutive win in competitive games.
“We’re ultra-cautious of the expectations that might evolve from this result and I don’t want people to think we’re home and hosed.
“There’s a lot of work to do and I’m sure that the players will give everything they have.”
The 64-year-old added: “If you look at that game, they showed heart, commitment and courage, but you expect that in sport.
“I’m really looking forward to the next game but I’m cautious, we have to be careful.
“We have a lead going into the second half of the tie, but we have to be careful and we have to be mentally strong.”