Latest news with #MarissaCallaghan
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Cliftonville 'deserved' to win League Cup
Cliftonville midfielder Marissa Callaghan said she felt "immense pride" in the Reds' 4-2 comeback win against Glentoran in the Women's League Cup Reds trailed 2-0 at half-time after Emily Wilson's well-taken double, but they scored four times in the second half to win the trophy for a third successive netted the third by heading beyond Ashleigh McKinnon and praised her side's stunning second half display."I thought we came out and completely dominated the second half," she told BBC Sport NI."First half, we lost ourselves a little bit, we were nervous and lacked a bit of awareness in the game. Fair play to Glentoran, they did well to get their two goals, but what a second half from us, every player gave everything, and we left everything on the pitch and deserved to win in the end."The former Northern Ireland captain said an honest half-time team talk and a tactical switch of position for forward Naomi McLaughlin were the catalysts for change in the second half."Half-time there were words, it was not the first half we wanted but we're a group of winners, we know how to win a game, and the coaches changed it with Naomi coming inside and she changed the game for us, she set up three of the four goals, " Callaghan added."It was nice to score what I thought was the winner at the time, there is no better feeling than scoring in a cup final."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Reds fight back to beat Glens and retain League Cup
Cliftonville fought back from two goals down to beat Glentoran 4-2 as they clinched a record-breaking third successive Women's League Wilson netted early in the first half before finding the net once again on 33 minutes to give Glentoran a comfortable 2-0 lead at the Cliftonville responded in the second half with Caitlin McGuinness scoring two goals in quick succession with Marissa Callaghan putting the Reds in-front and Carla Devine netting deep into stoppage victory means that Cliftonville become the first team to lift the League Cup trophy in three consecutive seasons. Glens dominate first half Glentoran took an early lead after just four minutes when Wilson capitalised of a mix-up between Orleigha McGuinness and Fi Morgan and travelled into the box before sending a low effort into the bottom right-hand struggled to create many goalscoring chances with Orleigha McGuinness' header from a Kirsty McGuinness free-kick denied by Ashleigh McKinnon and Aimee Kerr on hand to clear Marissa Callaghan's Northern Ireland manager Tanya Oxtoby watching on, striker Wilson grabbed her second of the afternoon and doubled the Glens' advantage just after the forward controlled Demi Vance's through ball and fired a strong effort past Rachael Norney. Cliftonville complete impressive comeback The Reds started the second half with intent and were denied by the woodwork in the opening two minutes when Teegan Lynch's effort struck the crossbar after Glentoran's defence failed to clear Kirsty McGuinness' early pressure would pay off though as Caitlin McGuinness' first time strike from Naomi McLaughlin's cross found the bottom corner in the 48th stand-in captain then levelled the game on 62 minutes when she linked up with McLaughlin once again, this time to nod home her in-swinging corner at the near a tale of two halves, Cliftonville then looked the more dangerous with Glentoran struggling to break into the final Reds would complete the comeback with McLaughlin's free-kick nodded on by Morgan into the path of Callaghan at the back post and she headed went from bad to worse for the Glens with Kascie Weir shown a straight red card for a foul on Morgan in additional Reds weren't done there and sealed the win on 94 minutes when McLaughlin bursts into the box and squared the ball for the unmarked substitute Devine to steer home.
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Glentoran stay top as Reds, Blues and Lisburn Rangers win
Glentoran maintained their unbeaten start to the Women's Premiership season with a 5-0 win over Crusaders Strikers. Cliftonville moved into second with a big 8-0 victory at home to Larne, and the Reds are level on points with a Linfield side who defeated Derry City Rangers claimed derby spoils with a 3-1 win over Lisburn in Friday's fourth fixture. Crusaders started the night in second place but were swept away by an impressive Glentoran side. Northern Ireland striker Kascie Weir opened the scoring in the seventh minute and swiftly added another inside 60 Caldwell and Emma McMaster also netted before the break, before substitute Ellie Butler added a fifth in the closing stages at the Blanchflower Solitude, Cliftonville moved into second place with a big win over Reds, who are also unbeaten in four matches, opened the scoring through Kirsty McGuinness' effort before Fionnula Morgan doubled the Devine and Naomi McLaughlin made it four before the break, and former Northern Ireland captain Marissa Callaghan added a fifth shortly after the McGuinness and Teegan Lynch also got on the scoresheet before Devine grabbed her second and Cliftonville's eighth late scored twice in each half to keep pace with the leading pair. The Blues made a fast start at the Brandywell as Hannah Doherty netted before Eve Reilly scored her sixth league goal of the season. Northern Ireland playmaker Keri Halliday added a third with 20 minutes to play and the in-form Cora Chambers added a fourth. At the Bluebell Stadium, Lisburn Rangers came away with three points in their derby with took the lead in the 18th minute when Caoimhe Gelston Mulholland netted, but Katherine O'Hare hit back for the Sophie Megaw restored Rangers' lead and Anastasija Stanyte headed home a third with 10 minutes remaining. Glentoran top the table with maximum points from five matches, and are five points clear of Cliftonville, who have played a game less, and and Lisburn Rangers are a point further back, and Larne are bottom of the table, without a win in their six matches.
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'One of NI's most impactful players calls time'
With injuries limiting her minutes and Tanya Oxtoby's youthful approach, Rachel Furness' retirement announcement is not entirely unexpected, but it does signal the latest changing of the guard for Northern just like when Marissa Callaghan announced her retirement, it is sad to see another of Northern Ireland's history-making Euro 2022 squad call a player, Furness will be remembered as a fearless competitor who made history by becoming the record goalscorer for her of the most important strikes was in the historic Euro 2022 play-off first leg in Ukraine, when she netted the opening goal before she tried to play on after sustaining a broken leg. That sums up her from her goals, one of the standout memories of Furness is her dancing around with her crutches in the air after the play-off win over also had a huge impact off the pitch, and her openness about her mental health struggles were inspiring as she encouraged other players to be open about their feelings and to stand up for their story is one of resilience and perseverance, and her all-round presence, not just her footballing ability, means she will be regarded as one of the most impactful players in Northern Ireland's storied history.
BBC News
04-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
The next step or too much to ask? NI earn promotion chance
It wasn't a classic, but it was enough for Northern Ireland to get the job done. The goal had long been for Tanya Oxtoby's youthful side to fight for a chance to earn promotion to League A for the first thanks to Tuesday's 1-1 draw in Bosnia-Herzegovina, they will play in a promotion play-off in the autumn. A draw was all that was required in Zenica, and captain Simone Magill found the opener after being played in by Rebecca Holloway's inch-perfect the hosts hit back as Sofija Krajsumovic capitalised on some soft defending to bring Bosnia wasn't the dramatics from the reverse fixture in February in Larne, when Magill netted two late goals for a 3-2 win, but it was mission hindsight, that victory was crucial and ultimately the difference between facing a relegation play-off and having a shot at the big time."We needed a draw to get into the position of a play-off and we've got that. That's the main thing," former Northern Ireland captain Marissa Callaghan said on BBC Sport NI commentary."It's been the same sort of theme from the campaign where we start off really well, get our goal and you just want them to kick on a go for a second or maybe even a third. "But then we've given away a soft goal and it just changes." Will NI close the gap to Europe's elite? Callaghan had touched on what has been a frustrating theme from NI's Nations League campaign. There has certainly been bright moments from the youthful squad, but the lack of a full 90-minute performance has left points on the table after conceding soft goals - most notably in the draws with Romania and Bosnia. It has been a campaign of transition for the squad, with debuts handed to teenagers Kascie Weir, Aimee Kerr and Abi such as Rebecca McKenna, Joely Andrews, Keri Halliday, Danielle Maxwell and Brenna McPartlan, all in their early 20s, have taken more steps forward as leaders in the team, popping up with pivotal the top end of experience, Magill has led the way, but players such as Lauren Wade, Jackie Burns, Holloway and Rachel Dugdale have had their moments the campaign has been inconsistent, the blend in the squad shows things are pointing towards a bright the positives, such as the flowing first-half football at home to Romania and defensive solidity in the second half away in Poland (albeit when the team were already 2-0 down) can start outweighing the negatives then the team will continue to move in the right direction. Is it enough for Northern Ireland to take the next step and join the top tier of European football? Time will tell. The 7-0 aggregate defeat by Norway in the Euro 2025 play-offs showed that Europe's elite are on a different level, and the two Nations League games with Poland suggested there's work to do to close the gap to the best of the rest in the autumn they will get another opportunity to try and bridge that gap in a promotion play-off. They will be drawn against either Iceland, Denmark, Belgium or Austria, and will have nothing to lose as the underdogs - a tag which has suited Northern Ireland well in the past. "They would be really tough games. Iceland might be a team we would hope to get, but all four of them are League A teams who have qualified for major tournaments in recent years," Callaghan added. "We've played Austria and we know what they are capable of, but you can only take it one game at a time."Tanya and her team will make sure they do their homework on the opposition and set up accordingly."Even if the step up to League A is out of reach in the autumn, Callaghan doesn't necessarily believe that staying in their current tier would be a bad outcome."We're bringing a lot of youth into the squad and there are so many players who have less than 10 caps or just come out of the Under-19s. "So, to expect them to go up to League A and compete, I think it's a little bit too much to ask."We have a few 30-year-olds in terms of experience. Listen, League B has been a good league for us and it's been challenging for us."
