Trai Hume’s first Northern Ireland goal helped them to a 2-0 win over Slovakia which keeps their World Cup qualifying campaign on track.
Patrik Hrosovsky’s 18th-minute own goal rewarded Northern Ireland for a strong start but, after wasting two outstanding chances to double their lead either side of the break, they endured some nervy moments before Hume lifted the ball over the stranded Martin Dubravka with 10 minutes to go.
Michael O’Neill had refused to call this a must-win, but the reality was they needed all three points to keep pace in a tight group in which Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Germany all have six points from three games.
It was reward for a strong performance, particularly in the first half, but the man at heart of it, captain Conor Bradley, picked up a cheap late yellow card which will rule him out of Monday’s visit of Germany.
Bradley had looked like a man on a mission from the start as Northern Ireland played with energy and desire and it was the Liverpool man who sparked the move for the opening goal.
He picked out Ethan Galbraith in space inside the box, and the Swansea midfielder pulled back a low cross which the hapless Hrosovsky turned into his own net. Three of Northern Ireland’s five goals against Slovakia in their six meetings to date have been own goals.
With half an hour gone, Galbraith picked Ondrej Duda’s pocket and though he could not find the run of Jamie Reid, the ball broke to Justin Devenny, whose strike was pushed around the post by Burnley’s Dubravka.
Bradley surged forward again the 35th minute and cut the ball inside to Shea Charles. His route to goal was blocked but it deflected to Reid in front of goal. Stretching, the Stevenage man could only put a glorious chance over.
Bradley looked just as keen at the start of the second half, twisting and turning on the edge of the box before sending a shot over within seconds of the restart, then slicing a shot wide from the edge of the box.
Northern Ireland wanted a 57th-minute penalty when Shea Charles ran into a Slovakia sandwich but the appeals were rightly waved away.
Seconds later the ball was in the Slovakian net but Reid was offside as he got a toe on a Charles shot which looked to have been goal-bound regardless.
It was a second clear chance for Northern Ireland to gain some breathing space in an increasingly frantic game, with a yellow card for Daniel Ballard a result of rising temperatures.
The hosts had lost their control and should have lost the lead in the 65th minute as Middlesbrough forward David Strelec got clear of Paddy McNair, only to poke the ball wide.
There was then another hugely-frustrating moment for Northern Ireland in the 76th minute when Bradley tussled with Lukas Haraslin on the wing to bring a booking which rules him out of Monday’s showdown with Germany.
But few were worrying about that four minutes later when Dubravka, unconvincing in commanding his area for much of the night, punched the ball weakly and it landed for Hume to lift it back over him and into an unguarded net.
O’Neill salutes ‘magnificent’ victory
Michael O’Neill hailed a “magnificent” performance from his Northern Ireland players after a 2-0 win over Slovakia at Windsor Park kept them firmly in the hunt in World Cup qualifying Group A.
“It was a great performance,” O’Neill said. “We set a bar for the players and they delivered. I think the team was as well prepared as they possibly could have been. We left nothing to chance and we got a great response from the players all week.
“You hope to get that performance but I kind of half-expected that we would get that and they were magnificent right through the team.”
O’Neill had refused to call this a must-win game in the build-up, but had notably said on Thursday his players were well aware of its significance ahead of Monday’s visit of Germany.
“It’s a huge result in the context of the group,” O’Neill added. “All three teams are now on six points. We have two home games left and we have one away game left, so maybe that gives us a slight advantage as well.”
Conor Bradley was the stand-out player but there were excellent displays throughout, most notably Charles, Hume and Ethan Galbraith.
“Conor was terrific,” O’Neill added. “I think when he plays in a Northern Ireland shirt he knows that he plays really on the front foot, his combination play with Ethan at times was fantastic, and that whole side of the pitch functions well with Trai as well, a great performance from him.
“I thought Shea was outstanding. If you want a performance from a midfield player that has everything I thought he gave that in terms of winning the ball back, covering the ground, use of the ball and a great effort on goal as well towards the end.
“I could name them all because they all played their part.”
The only frustration for O’Neill was a cheap booking for captain Bradley which rules him out of Monday’s game against Germany. Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg brandished the yellow card after the Liverpool defender brought down Lukas Haraslin inside the Slovakia half.
“I’ve seen the incident back, I’ve seen what the referee let go and to produce a yellow card for that I think is extremely disappointing given obviously now it leads to suspension,” O’Neill said.
“There were worse tackles in the game, there was one just before on Isaac Price which the referee let go, so producing a yellow card for that was disappointing.”
What’s next?
Northern Ireland host Germany at Windsor Park on Monday [kick-off 7.45pm] in their next Group A Qualifier.
