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Northern Ireland national football B team

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Northern Ireland B
Nickname(s)Green & White Army,
Norn Iron
AssociationIrish Football Association
Head coachnone
Most capsPat McGibbon (5)
Top scorerDerek Dougan (3)
Home stadiumWindsor Park / Mourneview Park / Coleraine Showgrounds
FIFA codeNIR
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Northern Ireland B 6–0 Romania B 
(Belfast, Northern Ireland; 23 October 1957)
Biggest win
 Northern Ireland B 6–0 Romania B 
(Belfast, Northern Ireland; 23 October 1957)
Biggest defeat
 France B 5–0 Northern Ireland B 
(Annecy, France; 16 March 1960)

The Northern Ireland national football B team 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, B team 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

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The Northern Ireland 'B' team made its first appearance in 1957, playing against Romania '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

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None

Previous matches

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Performance Record:

P W D L F A Gd
11 4 1 6 16 19 -3
Date Opponent Score Venue Scorers
23 October 1957 Romania B 6-0 Windsor Park, Belfast Sammy McCrory, Sammy Chapman, Derek Dougan 3, Jackie Scott
11 November 1959 France B 1-1 Windsor Park, Belfast Hugh Barr
16 March 1960 France B 0-5 Stade du Coteau, Annecy
10 May 1994 England B 2-4 Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield George O'Boyle, James Quinn
21 February 1995 Scotland B 0-3 Easter Road, Edinburgh
26 March 1996 Norway Olympic football team 3-0 The Showgrounds, Coleraine Darren Patterson, James Quinn, Phil Mulryne
28 March 1997 Portugal under-21 2-0 Mourneview Park, Lurgan Danny Sonner, Steve Robinson
11 February 1998 Republic of Ireland B 1-0 Tolka Park, Dublin George O'Boyle
9 February 1999 Wales B 0-1 The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
20 May 2003 Scotland Future 1-2 Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Steve Jones
6 May 2009 Scotland B 0-3 Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld

Squad for most recent game

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(vs. Scotland B, May 6, 2009)

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

Other previous players

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Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

Former coaches

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(Record: Played Won-Drawn-Lost)

References

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