Taylor's late strike gives Northern Ireland a much-deserved share of spoils with strong Scotland side
A 6-6 draw in second of historic internationals at Newry
Last updated 25th Jun 2018
Northern Ireland put themselves on the international futsal radar after securing a draw in the second game of their historic double header against Scotland in Newry.
Jonny Michael’s side are still a work in progress but gave the much more experienced Scottish side a run for their money.
After narrowly losing the first match, they drew 6-6 in next one again in front of a packed Newry Leisure Centre.
Craig Taylor’s well-struck free-kick earned them a much-deserved share of the spoils with just minutes to go.
Michael said he was proud of his players during the two-day international friendly series - a first for the province..
“We were happy to come back and draw the game – we just kept going – the boys depleted the tank and got their rewards,” he told Downtown & Cool FM.
“This was a thoroughly entertaining game for the points.
“We were playing against a Scottish side who are further down the track with regard to development.
“But we have made great strides in a very short space of time.”
He paid tribute to new additions to the squad including Brendan Shannon and Danny Stapleton who plays his domestic futsal in Manchester.
“We continue to add to the squad – we hope playing these games gives us another platform for other players to get involved domestically with us so we can continue to add more quality to our international team,” he added.
“But for us the progress we have made in 18 months is phenomenal – the one thing we do not lack is heart and character and the boys have showed that.
“You cannot coach this it’s just in our group and we will continue to work with those boys because they give us everything.”
Jack Magee (pictured) who was one of the star performers on the night, opened the scoring before Shannon made it two.
However, Scotland came back to leave the half-time scoreline 3-2 in their favour.
After the break a Connor Millar double followed by another Magee strike left the game on a knife edge.
With the clock running down, up stepped Taylor (main picture) to slot home a free kick and seal a memorable draw.