Northern Ireland were held to a goalless draw by Kosovo in their UEFA Women’s U-19 Qualifying campaign at Shamrock Park on Friday evening, with a tough game against Germany still to come.
Rebecca McKenna delivered a dangerous cross into the box but neither Louise McDaniel nor Kaia Deane could get on the end it.
The best chance of the half came from a Megan Bell free-kick from 25 yards out which flew just past Florentina Kolgeci’s left-hand post.
The first clear-cut chance of the match came on 68 minutes, McKenna crossed to the unmarked Alexandra Colligan at the back post who couldn’t get her first time shot on target.
Kosovo striker Flaka Aslanaj forced Lauren Currie to race outside her box and clear the danger but Alfie Wylie’s side will feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty 2 minutes from time, as Collighan went down under challenges by two defenders.
There was still more drama to come, as Megan Bell hit the crossbar from distance and Currie pulled off a fantastic diving save as Aslanaj looked to have won it with a low effort.
A draw leaves Northern Ireland second in the group with only Germany left to play on Monday night at Shamrock Park.
The top two teams will advance automatically to the Elite Round.
