Qatar peg back Northern Ireland to earn draw in Crewe

Northern Ireland have been held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar in this evening's international friendly staged at the Alexandra Stadium in Crewe.

Qatar barely threatened in the first half, but Ireland couldn't break through either as Stuart Dallas and Oliver Norwood went close.

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Following a slow-going opening period, the first goal arrived seconds after the restart as Dallas stroked home a knock-down from Brentford teammate Will Grigg.

The equaliser came 20 minutes from time when substitute Karim Boudiaf picked out the top corner with a long-range effort from 25 yards.

Both sides had half-chances to win it late on, but in the end a draw was the outcome in front of just over 3,000 people.

Northern Ireland have now failed to win any of their last 20 friendly matches - a run dating back to March 2008 - while Qatar's two-game winning streak comes to an end.