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==