McArdle has shown throughout his tenure so far that he is keen to expand Northern Ireland’s squad depth and gave four players their debuts during the Portugal double header.

One of those debutants, Elmore, scored Northern Ireland’s only goal of the tie and became the second player to score on her debut under McArdle after Emily Cassap netted during the 2-1 defeat by Switzerland in June.

“I’m delighted for Kess,” McArdle continued.

“I knew she could bring that, and it’s just great that she has had that impact in Larne and also got the reward with a goal tonight.

“She’s going to add so much to the group moving forward, but so will a lot of the debutants this week, which was exciting.”

It has been a challenging window for McArdle’s side with key players such as captain Simone Magill and the experienced Laura Rafferty, Nadene Caldwell and Caragh Hamilton missing.

However, the Scot still thinks the side have set “a real enthusiastic marker” down during the tough Portugal tie.

“There have been those moments that have went against us, moments of misfortune. We’re playing a risky style of football,” he continued.

“We were on the front foot from the first whistle, and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls. This is a real enthusiastic marker for moving forward. This is getting closer to the identity that I would like for us moving forward.

“We want more energy, we want more mobility, and we want to be a lot more versatile as well. I’m really proud but also really frustrated with the scoreline.”