LAFFERTY’S DELIGHTED BY O’NEILL BOYS’ FINE WORK ETHIC

KYLE LAFFERTY believes Saturday night’s win in Baku shows how far Northern Ireland have come under Michael O’neill. In years gone by, the national team would have wilted in 26C heat against a lively Azerbaijani side who were on the front foot for long periods. But this Northern Ireland side, who made history by reaching the European Championships for the first time ever last summer, is made of sterner stuff. O’neill’s men dug deep, kept their fifth clean sheet of the campaign despite losing Gareth Mcauley to an early injury and eked out three precious points. Lafferty, who won his 62nd cap as a late replacement for Liam Boyce, said: “We didn’t play our best but these are the type of games we weren’t winning a few years ago. “Now we know how to dig deep and get a result. It was difficult going to Azerbaijan and we knew we weren’t going to see much of the ball. “They put us under a lot of pressure which we needed to soak up but, if we are going to qualify for the World Cup, these are the type of games we need to win.” In their last 16 qualifiers, dating back to the start of the Euro 2016 campaign, O’neill’s men have won 10 and drawn four. Their only two qualifying defeats in the past three years came against Romania in Bucharest in 2014 and Group C pacesetters Germany in Hannover in October. Contrast that with just two wins in their previous 15 qualifiers and the sea change in mentality and confidence has been remarkable. Lafferty said: “We’ve shown we are a team, we play as a team and we certainly won as a team on Saturday. “If there was one man who made a mistake, there was a second who would come across and cover. That’s what we are all about. “It was tough but we kept our belief and managed to get the three points.” Lafferty was “absolutely buzzing” for close pal Stuart Dallas who broke Azerbaijani hearts in added time with his first competitive international goal. “I was absolutely made up for him,” he said. “Stu and I are really good friends and so when he scored the feeling I experienced was as though I had scored. “I was so pleased for him. As a striker I always want to try and add to my international goal tally but if it wasn’t going to me then I wanted it to be Stu. “To score your first international goal in such an important game is brilliant for him.”