Sarah McFadden: Northern Ireland’s comeback ‘Always in the back of my mind’ says defender

The NI team she is back in is noticeably different to the one she was last included in a year and a half ago, due to the influx of younger players.

This has necessitated the retirement of Marissa Callaghan, Rachel Furness and Rachel Dugdale.

McFadden, the only centurion on the current squad, knew her biggest draw back to the team at this late stage of her career was the experience she had, and she hopes to pass on the wisdom gained from more than 20 years of playing to the younger generation.

“That’s what I was saying when I was making my case to Tanya. She always understood that [experience]“Even if I’m not fit, I will always do my best for Northern Ireland and our group,” she added.

“I hope I’ve helped them this week, especially Abi Sweetlove. She’s at the beginning of her career, she’s an unbelievable centre-back, she’s the future and I hope I can help her because I’ve done it many times and someone has helped me, so I want to help them.”

So, the next step for McFadden and NI is to build on the positive second-half display in Ballymena when they go to Reykjavik on Tuesday aiming to overturn a two-goal deficit.

The odds are against for Oxtoby given their failure to have a shot on target in the first leg, but McFadden still believes they have a chance if they go there with confidence.

“We need a little more belief. We were able to get into the last third of the second half a little bit more, and with belief, we have a chance.

“If we score early, they will be the big fish under pressure and hopefully we can perform well again.”