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 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 None
Previous matches Performance Record: PWDLFAGd 11 4 1 6 16 19 -3
DateOpponentScoreVenueScorers 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, Philip 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 (vs. Scotland B, May 6, 2009)
Goalkeepers Trevor Carson (Sunderland) Jonathan Tuffey (Partick Thistle) Defenders Chris Casement (Wycombe Wanderers) Craig Cathcart* (Manchester United) Adam Chapman (Oxford United) Shane Duffy (Everton) Scott Gibb (Stirling Albion) Jeff Hughes* (Bristol Rovers) Daniel Lafferty (Celtic) Rory McArdle* (Rochdale) Ryan McGivern (Manchester City) Robbie Weir (Sunderland) Midfielders Martin Donnelly* (Crusaders) Corry Evans (Manchester United) Shane Ferguson (Newcastle United) Robert Garrett (Linfield) Paddy McCourt (Celtic) Niall McGinn (Celtic) Oliver Norwood (Manchester United) Michael O'Connor (Crewe Alexandra) Forwards Curtis Allen* (Lisburn Distillery) James Lawrie (Port Vale) Andrew Little (Rangers) Josh McQuoid (AFC Bournemouth) Dean Shiels* (Doncaster Rovers) Jamie Ward* (Sheffield United) *Player withdrew from final squad.
Other previous players Goalkeepers Alan Fettis Roy Carroll David Miskelly Elliott Morris Tom Evans Defenders Iain Jenkins Pat McGibbon Colin Murdock Darren Patterson Aaron Hughes Keith Rowland Peter Kennedy Barry Hunter Stephen Craigan Mike Duff Danny Griffin Gareth McAuley Paul Morgan Chris Baird Midfielders Jon McCarthy Danny Sonner Philip Mulryne Stephen Robinson Michael O'Neill Danny Lennon Jeff Whitley Tommy Doherty Grant McCann Wayne Carlisle Stuart Elliott Steve Jones Shaun Holmes Jim Whitley Forwards Gerry McMahon George O'Boyle David Healy Rory Hamill Gary Hamilton Andy Kirk Andy Smith James Broome
Former coaches (Record: Played Won-Drawn-Lost) Peter Doherty 1957-1959 (2 1-1-0) Len Graham 1960 (1 0-0-1)Daily Mirror Northern ireland Soccer Yearbook 2008-09 (ed. Malcolm Brodie) Page 112 Bryan Hamilton 1994-1997 (4 2-0-2) Roy Millar 1998 (1 1-0-0) Lawrie McMenemy 1999 (1 0-0-1) Sammy McIlroy 2003 (1 0-0-1) Nigel Worthington 2009 (1 0-0-1)
References
External links Scotland Future-Northern Ireland 'B' Match Report Northern Ireland B Internationals at NIFG