Thursday 05 Sep 2024

Northern Ireland begin Nations League campaign with a win

Michael O’Neill was looking for a solid start to Northern Ireland’s fourth UEFA Nations League campaign – and he got one.

Northern Ireland defeated top seeds Luxembourg in League C Group 3 in front of 17,213 fans at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park tonight.

First half goals from defenders Paddy McNair and Daniel Ballard secured a comfortable 2-0 victory.

The home side attacked from the start. Midfielder Shea Charles delivered a corner which striker Callum Marshall headed straight at Luxembourg keeper Anthony Moris.

Then Dion Charles got on the end of a clearance just outside the six-yard box but the forward shot into the ground and the ball bounced over the bar.

Michael O’Neill’s side opened the scoring on 11 minutes. Defender Ciaron Brown’s long throw put the Luxembourg defence under pressure. The clearance fell to Paddy McNair and he made no mistake, guiding the ball home from 10 yards with the outside of his foot. It was a composed finish.

In the 17^th minute it was 2-0 to Northern Ireland. Midfielder Conor Bradley was hauled down as he approached the penalty area down the right flank. Fellow midfielder George Saville fired the free-kick towards the near post where Daniel Ballard was on hand to clip the ball into the net.

Luxembourg created very little going forward in the opening half-hour, however Brown had to dive full length to head a dangerous cross away on 35 minutes.

Marshall produced a fine piece of skill to skip past his marker down the left flank, but his cross drifted out.

As half-time approached Northern Ireland captain Trai Hume, donning the armband for the first time, curled an effort just inches past the post.

Luxembourg’s best chance of the half came when McNair and Ballard failed to deal with a long ball and Leandro Barreiro nipped in, however his shot flew over the top.

Right at the start of the second half Bradley, who was full of running throughout, sped forward and fed Hume. The defender’s lofted cross to the back post was met by Price, who dragged this shot wide of the target. Not long after Hume scooped a shot wide of the target.

Luxembourg began to enjoy more possession without creating opportunities.

On 66 minutes Bradley sprung the offside trap and bore down on goal, however his low shot went wide of the post.

Four minutes later goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell clawed out a flicked header from Luxembourg striker Gelson Rodrigues, who was rarely given a sight of goal by Ballard and McNair.

Saville whipped another free-kick towards the near post where it appeared to hit Ballard’s shoulder and dropped past the post.

A mix-up between Peacock-Farrell and McNair saw the ball fall to Michael Olesen outside the area, however he could not capitalise. His long range shot drifted wide.

In the closing stages Northern Ireland substitute Ross McCausland had a couple of efforts, forcing saves out of Moris.

Next up for Northern Ireland is a game against C3 second seeds Bulgaria in Plovdiv on Sunday (5pm BST). They drew 0-0 tonight with fourth seeds Belarus. That game was played in Zalaegerszeg in Hungary.

Northern Ireland: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Conor Bradley, Trai Hume (captain), Daniel Ballard, Paddy McNair, Ciaron Brown, George Saville, Shea Charles, Dion Charles, Callum Marshall, Isaac Price.

Substitutes: (used) Josh Magennis, Jamal Lewis, Ross McCausland, Ali McCann, Paul Smyth; (unused) Luke Southwood (GK), Josh Clarke (GK), Shayne Lavery, Corry Evans, Brad Lyons, Carl Johnston, Ethan Galbraith.

Luxembourg: Anthony Moris, Enes Mahmutovic, Lars Gerson, Dirk Carlson, Florian Bohnhert, Laurent Jans (captain), Leandro Barreiro, Christopher Martins, Mathias Olesen, Gerson Rodrigues, Eric Veiga.

Substitutes: (used) Michael Pinto, Eldin Dzogovic, Christophe Andrade Brites, Sebastien Thill, Edvin Muratovic; (unused) Ralph Schon (GK), Tiago Pereira (GK), Sofiane Ikene, Kevin D’Anzico, Jayson Videira, Timothe Rupil, Fabio Lohei.