MX23RW : Friday, December 13 13:40:19| >> :600:1809517:1809517:
[monks data]
Belarus national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Jun 11, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Northern Ireland national football team

0-1

FT(HT: 0-0)
McNair (86')

O'Neill watching Northern Ireland's young guns grow up in Euro 2020 qualifiers

O'Neill watching Northern Ireland's young guns grow up in Euro 2020 qualifiers
© Reuters
Players who cut their teeth in the dismal Nations League campaign last year are now delivering results.

Michael O'Neill is watching Northern Ireland's young guns grow up before his eyes in their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

The manager has a glint in his eyes when he talks about the energy the likes of Jamal Lewis, Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Gavin Whyte have brought to his team.

But players who cut their teeth in the dismal Nations League campaign last year are now delivering results as O'Neill's men go in search of a fourth-straight qualifying win in Tuesday's match against Belarus in Borisov.

When Northern Ireland fell behind to a 25th-minute free-kick from Konstantin Vassiljev against Estonia on Saturday, the feeling was similar to that felt last year as they lost all four of their Nations League matches.

But this time they dug deep and late goals from Conor Washington and Josh Magennis earned a vital 2-1 win.

"That's been one of the most pleasing aspects of the campaign, particularly from the younger players coming in – I thought they were very important in Estonia in the second half," O'Neill said.

"It was a difficult situation for them, a lot of them are new to international football, and for so long we've relied on Jonny (Evans), Steven (Davis), and Craig (Cathcart), older players, but the younger players have a freshness about them.

Conor Washington (left) and Josh Magennis (right)
Conor Washington (left) and Josh Magennis (right) were on target against Estonia (Steven Paston/PA)

"We lost our games in the Nations League, a little bit unfairly in many cases, and they've learnt from that experience as well.

"The most encouraging thing was that when we got level on Saturday, that we were determined to go and win, we weren't going to settle for anything other than the three points."

Substitutions changed the game for Northern Ireland, with goalscorers Washington and Magennis both coming off the bench while Jordan Jones also made an impact on the wing, setting up Maggenis' winner.

Magennis also got a late winner against Belarus in March after coming on as a substitute, and O'Neill is grateful for the options he now has in his squad.

View this post on Instagram

😘 #GAWA

A post shared by Northern Ireland (@northernireland) on

"The substitutions made a big difference in terms of what they brought to the team, both in terms of quality and physically as well," he said.

"It's nice to have that, that you can bring on a sub and they do make a difference. That shows the strength in depth we maybe have now."

Saturday's match was played in hot and humid conditions, draining on the legs. Northern Ireland have arrived in Belarus to find similar hot weather here too but – with Tuesday's match not kicking off until 9.45pm – things should have cooled off considerably.

There are other challenges, however. Due to a lack of suitable accommodation, Northern Ireland are staying in the capital Minsk and making the 75-minute journey to Borisov by bus prior to kick-off.

"The added slight complication is the journey from Minsk to Borisov which is longer than you'd typically do on a matchday," O'Neill said.

"Certainly the later kick-off in terms of the weather will be something the players will be pleased about.

"I think even playing at 7pm in Estonia, it was still very hot and humid and hopefully with a 9.45pm kick-off, the conditions will be somewhat more favourable to us."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Ian Parker, Press Association Sport, Minsk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '081f87ed-e420-45e7-b4aa-611e1b5cc2d6');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'O\u2019Neill watching Northern Ireland\u2019s young guns grow up in Euro 2020 qualifiers'});

ID:361689: cacheID:361689:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:15691:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jonny Evans pictured for Northern Ireland in March 2019
Read Next:
Evans targets an unprecedented four in a row
>
Read more about Michael O'Neill Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Rams
@
49ers
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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!