MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 22:23:53| >> :600:2504105:2504105:

Michael O'Neill rues lack of creativity

O'Neill rues lack of creativity
© PA Photos
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill admits that his side were not good enough in the final third following their 0-0 draw in Malta.

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill has admitted that his side did not create enough chances to deserve to beat Malta following tonight's 0-0 friendly draw.

The former Shamrock Rovers manager said the conditions in Valletta made things difficult for his side but conceded that they were lacking in the final third.

"It was a difficult game in that the conditions weren't particularly conducive to trying to play. The pitch was difficult, very bumpy, the wind obviously didn't help matters," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying.

"But overall, whilst we never really seemed in any great danger and we controlled large portions of the game, we didn't create enough chances.

"They were very well organised and at times we played into their hands a little bit with our choice of passing. I think at times a little bit of our inexperience in certain areas of the team showed up."

The stalemate means that O'Neill has yet to record his first victory since taking change of the national team, with five draws and three defeats to his name.

"You want to win games, simple as that. We've had eight games, we've had five draws and three defeats. We've had some very difficult games in there," he added.

"Of course it's a concern but at the end of the day the only people who can change that are myself and the players and I'm aware of that."

Northern Ireland's next game is a World Cup qualifier at home to Russia on March 22.

ID:68029: cacheID:68029:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2346:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Aaron Hughes
Read Next:
Hughes happy with NI progress
>
Read more about Michael O'Neill Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Result
Munar
Borges
7 6
5 4
Result
Navone
Popyrin
7 6
5 2
Result
Vukic
Daniel
2 77 1
6 61 6
Result
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
2 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Davis
Sherif
6 64 4
4 77 6
Result
Putintseva
Yuan
6 6
2 4
Result
Stephens
Trevisan
6 5 6
3 7 4
Result
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
4 3
6 6
Result
Altmaier
Landaluce
6 7
1 5
Result
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
4 7 3
6 5 6
Result
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
4 4
6 6
Result
Arango
Anisimova
1 6 77
6 4 62
Result
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
7 6
5 2
Result
Zhang
Rogers
3 2
6 6
Result
Osaka
Minnen
6 6
4 1
Result
Vekic
Siegemund
6 6
1 2
Result
Darderi
Monfils
6 6
4 2
Result
Karatsev
Marozsan
66 62
78 77
Result
Van Assche
Bergs
6 60 6
4 77 1
Result
Linette
Cocciaretto
3 6 6
6 4 4
Result
Wang
Tomova
5 7 6
7 5 4
Result
Bai
Dolehide
3 3
6 6
Result
Dart
Bucsa
4 4
6 6
Result
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2 2
6 6
Result
Bronzetti
Gracheva
6 6
3 3
Result
Frech
Cristian
5 2
7 6
Result
Hibino
Krueger
4 4
6 6
Result
Coric
Hassan
65 7 6
77 5 3
Result
Kokkinakis
Draper
3 6 5
6 3 7
Result
Nakashima
Bagnis
3 65
6 77
Result
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
6 6
3 3
Result
Baptiste
Saville
4 65
6 77
Result
Bejlek
Blinkova
4 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Errani
Wozniacki
3 7 7
6 5 5
Result
Montgomery
Avanesyan
6 6
2 2
Result
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
6 4 77
1 6 64
Result
Burel
Danilovic
6 68 4
3 710 6
5pm
Moutet
Shang
Result
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
4 6 3
6 3 6
Result
Andreeva
Townsend
4 6 7
6 1 5
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!