Marissa Callaghan and Nadene Caldwell scored to give Kenny Shiels' side a 2-0 win on the night and a 4-1 victory on aggregate in the two-legged play-off.

Captain Callaghan tucked home on 55 minutes and Caldwell netted in injury time to secure the win against Ukraine, who had Natiya Pantsulaya sent off. The Euro 2022 finals will be Northern Ireland's first major tournament. It caps a remarkable 17-year journey for Northern Ireland, whose women's national team only reformed in 2004.

After a goalless first-half, Callaghan broke the deadlock 10 minutes into the second-half when she beat Ukraine goalkeeper Kateryna Samson to the ball and slotted into the empty net. It was a goal which perfectly summed up Northern Ireland's persistence as Callaghan won the initial header from Julie Nelson's free-kick before showing awareness to get to the second ball ahead of the sleeping Ukraine defence to give the home side the cushion they craved.

Caldwell secured the victory after Pantsulaya was sent-off late on. Simone Magill won the ball on the edge of the area and Caldwell, who had just come on the pitch as a substitute, beat the stranded Samson to spark wild celebrations. The celebrations at full-time marked an unbelievable journey for a team who were written off before a ball was kicked in qualifying.

Moments such as Ashley Hutton's last-minute goal against Wales or a superb 1-0 victory away to Belarus with 10 players demonstrate where the unwavering belief stems from. From arriving in May 2019, Shiels and his coaching team, which includes son Dean, have done a remarkable job changing the mentality and tactics of this side.

For players like Nelson, who has been through thick and thin since making her debut 17 years ago, it has been a life-long dream. For younger players like Rebecca McKenna or Chloe McCarron, this will a high point in their fledgling careers that they hope will be the first of many.

It's impossible to name every player but it has been a real team effort to get to this point - and every player in a green shirt played their part. It was an occasion and performance which deserved a packed house at Seaview, but this history-making team can expect the Green and White Army to follow their every move for years to come.

This team dared to dream, and now they will enjoy every moment of the reward they have worked so hard to achieve. Northern Ireland, ranked 25 places below their opponents, looked relaxed from the first whistle as they went about finishing the job they began by securing a lead in Ukraine.

Just as in Kovalivka, Northern Ireland came flying at their opponents right from the first whistle, with Kirsty McGuinness and Magill harrying Ukraine's defence. The positive approach settled any lingering nerves, and while manager Shiels is renowned for his enterprising style of football, it was a direct approach from set plays which gave his side half openings.

Laura Rafferty, one of two changes from the first leg, was inches away from opening the scoring when she poked wide after the ball dropped to the defender from an early corner.

Again, in a similar pattern to the first leg, Ukraine grew into the match and began to dominate the midfield as the half wore on.

Despite Ukraine's growing possession on the artificial pitch, Northern Ireland looked comfortable in defence and Magill, who had a shot comfortably saved by Kateryna Samson, and Callaghan provided an outlet for Shiels' side. McKenna, on her 20th birthday, continued where she left off from the first leg and Rebecca Holloway had the best performance of her short NI career to date as both players were tasked with providing width in both attack and defence.

However, it was the experienced head of Nelson who made the most-important intervention of the first half when she superbly denied Olha Ovdiychuk with some last-ditch defending following a rare lapse of concentration for NI just before the half-time whistle. Cheered on in the stands by the vocal Rachel Furness, who missed the match after sustaining a broken ankle in the first leg, NI came out for the second-half like and looked like a team with the weight off their shoulders.

That soon turned to pandemonium when Callaghan showed tremendous persistence to beat Samson to the ball and score - a goal that meant Ukraine had to net three times to overcome their opponents. It was akin to when men's captain Steven Davis scored twice against Greece in 2015 to fire Northern Ireland to the Euro 2016 finals in France as Callaghan led from the front.

Northern Ireland dropped deep but still looked in command as the visitors ran out of ideas as the clock ticked down. They put plenty of crosses into the danger area but goalkeeper Jackie Burns and the defensive trio of Rafferty, Nelson and Ashley Hutton stood strong as NI began to pick Ukraine off on the counter.

McCarron's cross was just out of reach of Magill and Ukraine were reduced to 10 players when Pantsulaya was dismissed for cutting across the outstanding Sarah McFadden as she raced through on goal. Caldwell then struck in the final seconds to spark jubilant scenes and cap off a superb display as Shiels' team continue to outshine their underdog status.

Plymouth Raiders went unbeaten in the BBL Championship during March and came up just short in the BBL Trophy Final, leading to recognition for Head Coach Paul James and emerging star guard Rickey McGill.

James wins the Kevin Cadle Molten BBL Coach of the Month award for the second time this season after March saw him lead Plymouth to three league wins, which extends to eight straight going back to February and including the first two games of April, as that good run has seen them climb the table to second place.

Most impressively, Raiders scored a big road win at Newcastle Eagles which initially helped them close the gap on their title-chasing rivals - who had been in second for some time - before over-taking them early in April. It was a strong performance from Raiders, winning 85-72 while scoring 58 points in the paint, led by 16 from former Eagle Mike Morsell, and holding Eagles to their third fewest points of the season, including just 31 in the second half.

Aside from that, there were two other double-digit league wins over the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and Manchester Giants - the first of those live on Sky Sports - where Raiders showed character to emerge from half time team talks with big second half performances to overturn early deficits - something that they have continued to do since. They beat Sheffield 50-32 in the second half, and Manchester by an even better 52-27.

James' team has a clear identity and style, as the league's leading defence conceding just 75 points per game at only 41% from the field, also giving up the fewest points in the paint (30.5) of any team. They are also aggressive offensively, as by far the league's leaders in free-throw attempts at 24 per game - five higher than the next team - and offensive rebounds with 12 per game.

Raiders have also come through adversity in the month, winning games despite injuries to key players such as Prince Ibeh, Michael Ochereobia and Chris Porter-Bunton, with captain Ashley Hamilton also returning to the team from an injury lay-off.

Even in their only defeat in March, to London Lions in the BBL Trophy Final, Raiders characteristically showed great fight to almost come back from a big early deficit, falling just short of a first piece of BBL silverware since 2007.

The catalyst for Raiders on numerous occasions has been American guard Rickey McGill, who has averaged an amazing 25.5 points per game in March to pick up the Molten BBL Player of the Month award.

That points haul has come on amazing shooting splits of 62% from the field - on 99 attempts, or 16.5 per game as Plymouth's go-to man - as well as 47% from the three-point line and 82% at the free-throw line. He has also added five assists, four rebounds and two steals per game. Overall, he is sixth in the league in assists and seventh in steals.

He was outstanding in March's BBL Trophy run, which saw him score over 30 points in both legs of the semi-final and the final itself. He was unlucky to be on the losing team in the final, scoring 31 points on 68% shooting, including nine early in a three minute third quarter spell to bring Raiders back to within one point from a 16 point deficit.

To get to the final, he scored 63 points over two legs in just three days against Surrey Scorchers, going 24-35 (69%) from the field in a pair of comprehensive wins.

In BBL Championship play, McGill scored comfortably in double-figures in all three games, and had perhaps one of his best all-round performances to round out the month on the road at Manchester Giants, with his first double-double of 23 points and 12 assists, along with four rebounds and four steals.

On Sky Sports, he was MVP of the Sheffield game after hitting 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including a big 'and-one' play for the go-ahead basket that changed the momentum in a previously tight affair.

A busy and important April is already underway for Raiders, with wins in consecutive nights over the Easter weekend, while they also face two South West derbies with Bristol Flyers and a clash with league-leading Leicester Riders as they chase the title in this last month of the regular campaign.

Progress on the redevelopment of the Alexander Stadium is on the brink of another significant milestone – the completion of the steelworks. Early next week the framework for the eye-catching new West Stand at the venue in Perry Barr will be fully in place, and work to add fixtures, fittings and all of the features required by a world-class sporting arena is now starting.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “This is an exciting milestone and it's testament to the hard work and efforts of all involved that we have made such progress despite the challenges of delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We can now clearly see what the new stadium will look like when complete – congratulations to everyone who is working on the redevelopment.” The project is on budget and scheduled for completion in spring 2022.

Operations Director for lead contractor McLaughlin & Harvey, Martin Keys, added: “This is a really important milestone for the Alexander Stadium Redevelopment project.

“Considering the challenges of COVID-19, the complex roof design, and erecting the steel over the winter months; we have been able to complete the steel on programme. It is a really exciting moment for the project and demonstrates that when we work collaboratively together as a team we can overcome difficult obstacles.”

Funding for the Alexander Stadium Redevelopment comes from three sources: Birmingham City Council (£27.4million), the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (£20million) and West Midlands Combined Authority (£25million). Arup are designers for the Alexander Stadium redevelopment, covering all engineering services and architectural design, with Mace acting as project and programme managers, both appointed by Birmingham City Council.

James Watts, Associate Director at Arup, said: “Reaching this milestone is a fantastic achievement for all involved. It has been a true demonstration of proactive and collaborative working.

“Within Arup alone, our team of architects, engineers, planners and specialists have contributed more than 37 years of effort so far to help deliver what will be a wonderful sporting facility for Birmingham. With the steel frame now virtually completed, the curvature of the new stand that will become the stadium’s signature is visible for all.

“The 1,400 tonnes of steelwork has been designed, detailed and fabricated in the UK, with police escorts required for the longest components of the roof structure, which are 35 metres in length. If laid end-to-end, the steelwork would very nearly complete 50 laps of the new track. There is still a long way to go, but all involved should be proud of what has been achieved to date.”

Associate Director at Mace, Paul Robertson, said: “Celebrating the final piece of steel being installed is exciting for a project which has not been without its challenges.

“This time last year we were facing the prospect of starting construction in the middle of a pandemic yet works continue on time and on budget as we move towards the 12-month on-site milestone in May this year. The team partnership and approach has been exceptional, and everyone is pulling together as we move into this next critical phase of the project.”

Birmingham City has insisted that they are committed to their women’s team after the players raised a series of complaints with the board.

The Football Association has opened an investigation after City’s squad sent a letter to the Women’s Super League club’s hierarchy highlighting a lack of support for them compared to that given to the men’s team. The complaints were reported to include players earning less than the minimum wage, delays over treatment for injured players, a lack of access to the training-ground gym and changing rooms and travel arrangements for away fixtures.

In response, the club said in a statement: “We are keen to emphasise that the club remains committed to providing support for our women’s team.

“We will further the conversation internally in a bid to address players’ concerns, the details of which, will remain private.”

Head coach Carla Ward said: “This week we have held positive discussions with the board relating to the concerns raised by the players. It was never the intention of the players for the letter to be made public and many of the points were misrepresented.

“We are working together to move forward and will remain in communication with the board to resolve matters internally. We are now approaching a vital stage of the season and will focus all our efforts on winning as many games as possible to keep the club in the BFAWSL.” The issue was raised at England’s press conference ahead of the Lionesses’ friendly against France.

Former Birmingham player Ellen White said: “Well, it’s not OK, is it? For a club of Birmingham’s stature, to be playing in the WSL, it’s not OK for players to be experiencing what they are.

“I was at Birmingham for a couple of years, and I’ve got friends there. I think it’s important that it’s been brought to attention, and something needs to be done, especially with them having been in the WSL from pretty much the start. It’s not OK to be happening.”

Birmingham’s statement also said that their women’s side will be playing home fixtures at St Andrew’s next season if they retain their place in the WSL. The team, who currently play home matches at the SportNation.Bet Stadium, which is also used by Solihull Moors of the men’s National League, are ninth in the WSL table, three points above the relegation spot with four games left.

Rachael Blackmore made sporting history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National with victory on Minella Times at Aintree. The Irish rider scored a thrilling triumph aboard the 11-1 chance, trained by Henry de Bromhead who also saddled runner-up Balko Des Flos.

The thrilled record-breaker said: "I don't feel male or female right now. I don't even feel human."  The 173rd running of the world's most famous steeplechase provided a story for the ages as Blackmore won in the colours of owner JP McManus.

The 31-year-old – who claimed six victories in all, including the Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle, and was a narrow runner-up in the Gold Cup with A Plus Tard - had already achieved a landmark success at last month's Cheltenham Festival when becoming the first woman to be the meeting's leading jockey. She demonstrated perfect poise and timing to guide Minella Times expertly round the 30 fences over more than four and a quarter miles for victory by six and a half lengths.

The closest a female jockey had previously come to winning the race was Katie Walsh on Seabass in 2012 when she finished third. "I cannot believe it," Blackmore - the daughter of a dairy farmer and a school teacher from Killenaule, County Tipperary - said. "He was a sensational spin. It is unbelievable." Starting out riding ponies as a child, she went on to gain a degree in equine science and combined her studies with competing as an amateur jockey.

There were no spectators at the Merseyside track because of Covid-19 protocols, but the historic moment was not lost on the jockeys, trainers and owners in attendance who cheered the pair back into the winner's enclosure. The 1-2 for De Bromhead sealed his own remarkable story, having won the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

One of the 40 runners, The Long Mile, was euthanised after suffering an injury while running on the flat between fences. It was the second equine fatality in eight editions of the race since safety changes were introduced in 2013. Jockey Bryony Frost was taken to hospital after being unseated from her mount Yala Enki. Amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, who has won six times in other races over the National fences, led the way with an enterprising ride on outsider Jett.

The favourite, Cloth Cap, followed on the inside and travelled well for a long way before fading as McManus runners Any Second Now and Minella Times entered the picture. Mark Walsh did well to stay on Any Second Now after nearly being brought down at the third-last and the challenges of Burrows Saint and Discorama waned as Balko Des Flos and Minella Times pushed ahead.

As Blackmore and Minella Times safely jumped the last, it became clear a piece of racing folklore was being created and the pair passed the winning line clear of their rivals. Forty-four years after Charlotte Brew was the first woman to ride in the race on 200-1 outsider Barony Fort, who refused at the 27th fence, Blackmore had bettered Walsh's third-placed finish with an historic victory.

"It is huge. It's the first woman to win the National. It's history, but I suppose this has been coming over time," said Walsh. "There's been more women riding in the National over the last couple of years."

As the first female referee to take charge of an English Football League game Rebecca Welch was praised for her performance by the managers of both sides she was charged with.

Rebecca, 37, oversaw Port Vale's 2-0 win at Harrogate Town in League Two on Monday. In the elite category of referees and on FIFA's international list, Ms Welch, from Washington, County Durham, previously officiated seven National League games this season. She was the first to be given a game from the off and had a day without any major controversy, barring a contentious decision to wave away Harrogate's appeals for a first-half penalty.

On his assessment of her performance, Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke said: "I thought she was focused and didn't get much wrong. I was moaning about one or two decisions, but generally it was quite consistent. We need to see more women referees and lineswomen moving forward. They should be judged like anyone else and she's had a good start."

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver said: "I think she was very good indeed. Important calls were made throughout and they were the right calls. Hopefully it's just par for the course that we see female referees and officials in the EFL. It's about time."

Speaking after her appointment was announced last week, Welch told the EFL's official website: "Initially I wasn't really aware of being appointed as the first female referee.

"I was just given the appointment and I was over the moon but, when you kind of reflect on it, you think you're the first woman ever to do this, so I'm extremely proud and my family is extremely proud too."

Amy Fearn was the first woman to referee an EFL game as she came on as an injury replacement in the 2010 Championship game between Coventry and Nottingham Forest.