Michael O’Neill, the manager of Northern Ireland, made a last-ditch appeal last week when he unveiled his most recent team for the Nations League.
On Saturday, October 12, four League One strikers will compete to start at the front of the line against Belarus away from home and against Bulgaria three days later.
In 109 games for the national team, Callum Marshall, Dion Charles, Josh Magennis, and Jamie Reid have combined for 15 goals. O’Neill acknowledged that “it is very difficult” to win when one does not have “consistent goalscorers in your forward line”.
Ronan Hale appears to be the most recent striker who is eager to respond.
After joining the Scottish team in the summer, the Ross County forward has made a great transition from Cliftonville.
Including his Sunday’s retaken penalty against Celtic, he now has four goals in five league games. In 11 games in all competitions, he has seven goals.
He is clearly the most productive striker in Northern Ireland, but there’s a little catch: he can’t be chosen since he hasn’t received international clearance to play for his country.
The headlines proclaiming “cometh the hour, cometh the man” will have to wait until November, or possibly even later, as O’Neill hinted on Thursday.
