PICTURES BY BOB HALL
MANAGER Tanya Oxtoby made two changes to the side that defeated Romania last time out, handing a debut to Linfield’s Abi Sweetlove and bringing Rangers’ Megan Bell back into the panel in place of Keri Halliday and Caragh Hamilton.
Poland also made a couple of adjustments from their last outing, recalling keeper Kinga Szemik and midfielder Emilia Szymczak, while Ewa Pajor collected her 100th cap for her country.
The visitors provided a glimpse of what was to come with just over 30 seconds on the clock when Pajor ran onto a ball over the top, spotted Northern Ireland keeper Jackie Burns off her line and attempted a lob that just missed hitting the target to land on the roof of the net.
But Pajor wasn’t to be denied on five minutes. On this occasion Martyna Wiankowska delivered a cross from the left for the Barcelona striker to get in front of Ellie Mason and find the net from close range.
Then, just four minutes after that, Pajor doubled her tally for the evening after dispossessing Burns on the edge of the area as she tried to clear the ball and slotted into the unguarded net.
Poland added a third just before the half-hour mark.
Adriana Achcinska sent the ball into the area, with it falling for Paulina Tomasiak to blast home from 12 yards out.
Despite suffering a torrid opening 30 minutes Northern Ireland didn’t give up the fight, and threatened on 34 minutes when skipper Simone Magill worked her way into the area but was unfortunate to see her shot turned behind for a corner.
However, as the first half ticked away to a finish Poland pressed forward in search of their fourth of the evening.Tomasiak had a go from distance on 37 minutes but Burns did well to get down to tip it around an upright, followed soon after with another effort from the same player that Burns also gathered well.
Natalia Padilla-Bidas then tested Burns with the last real chance of the first half but, once more, she proved equal to the threat to push the danger away.
Perhaps frustrated by this, it took Poland just over a minute of the second half to extend their advantage when Pajor created space in the area for Achcinska to tuck the ball home from close range.
Padilla-Bidas thought she had added a fifth not long after that but her powerful strike could only nestle in the side netting.With the game over as a contest, Poland eased off the pressure somewhat which allowed Northern Ireland to enjoy longer periods of possession.
They almost made it count in the closing minutes after Magill found Rebecca Holloway in the area but her strong strike was pushed away by keeper Szemik, with Rebecca McKenna sending the rebound over.
Then Emily Wilson darted into the danger zone to lay the ball off for Lauren Wade but just as she looked to tap home she was thwarted by Kayla Adamek.
And not long after that Wilson came even closer with a thundering effort off the crossbar after Danielle Maxwell had cut the ball back into her path!
In the closing moments Aimee Kerr – on her debut – created one final opening but her shot at goal was comfortably dealt with by the keeper.
It was a strong, positive finish on what was a tough night and will give the squad no small amount of hope ahead of Tuesday’s visit to Zenica to face Bosnia-Herzegovina (kick-off 6pm), whom they defeated by the odd goal in five at Inver Park back in February, with a promotion play-off spot still very much up for grabs.
Northern Ireland: Jackie Burns, Rebecca McKenna, Nadene Caldwell, Ellie Mason, Abi Sweetlove, Rebecca Holloway, Joely Andrews, Brenna McPartlan, Megan Bell, Simone Magill (captain), Kascie Weir
Substitutes: (used) Danielle Maxwell, Lauren Wade, Rachel Dugdale, Emily Wilson, Aimee Kerr; (unused) Abbie Smith, Kate Smith, Rachel Furness, Natalie Johnson, Louise McDaniel, Keri Halliday, Caragh HamiltonP
Poland: Kinga Szemik, Martyna Wiankowska, Paulina Dudek, Emilia Szymczak, Wiktoria Zienewicz, Ewelina Kamczyk, Tanja Pawollek, Adriana Achcinska, Natalia Padilla-Bidas, Ewa Pajor (captain), Paulina TomasiakS
Substitutes: (used) Jagoda Cyrniak, Dominika Grabowska, Małgorzata Mesjasz, Milena Kokosz, Kayla Adamek; (unused) Natalia Radkiewicz, Kinga Seweryn, Aleksandra Zaremba, Weronika Zawistowska, Martyna Brodzik, Klaudia Jedlinska, Klaudia Slowinska
