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Oxtoby’s side are aiming to overturn a 2-0 deficit following defeat in Ballymena on Friday evening as they look to seal a spot in League A – the top-tier of European football. It’s undoubtedly an uphill task against an Icelandic team sitting 27 places higher in FIFA’s world rankings, but Oxtoby believes her side will be able to build on what she felt was a positive performance at The Showgrounds. Two set-pieces ultimately cost Northern Ireland dearly – Bayern Munich defender Glodis Viggosdottir and Ingibjorg Sigurdardottir headed home in either half from Karolina Vilhjalmsdottir deliveries. Having banked crucial experience against a side who competed at the 2025 European Championships, Oxtoby is adamant her side will have learnt crucial lessons and expects to see improvements as a result. "They've got confidence from that performance, I believe,” said Oxtoby. “I think in the strategy, what we're going after, and I think generally speaking, second game in, when we play teams twice, we're better. "We go in with a lot of confidence and, as I said, we’re still in the tie, which was the goal (from Friday night). We created some really good chances and I think that's probably the missing piece now. "When we are getting into those positions, can we punish teams and give ourselves an opportunity to build off that? "I know we sat deep, I get that, but we also had chances in the second half and we need to continue to build off that and have a little bit more quality, a little bit more patience in that final third. "It's a pleasing part of our game from our perspective that we know we can be compact, be hard to break down and obviously cause problems at the other end.” After Northern Ireland’s defensive options were ravaged by injuries and suspension on Friday, Oxtoby is set to welcome Rebecca Holloway back into the fold. "Getting Mac (Sarah McFadden) back for some minutes and obviously Bec's back in for the second leg,” she added. “We've got players that have been building throughout the week with minutes too, so we might have them available, like Casey Howe and Keri Halliday. "It was important that we stayed in the tie so that come Tuesday we might have a little bit more up our sleeve. "I think (the first goal will be crucial). I think whoever gets that, it's either a long way back for us, or it's a little bit nervy for them. "We concentrate again on our performance and how we execute that. We want to start well again, that's what we spoke about (on Friday) – give ourselves a platform to push on in the game. "You can see how bright this future is with this group. They've been a pleasure to work with all week. The fact that we go away to Iceland, we're in the tie, we're in a position where the group is feeling positive, that's a great place to be.”
