THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY CAREER

MATCH-WINNER Stuart Dallas savoured the most important goal he thinks he may ever score as Northern Ireland inched closer to a World Cup qualification play-off place. The Leeds United winger netted for Michael O’neill’s side in the second minute of injury time (above) when it looked as if their depleted ranks would be fortunate to return west with a point. Norway’s draw with the Czech Republic made Dallas’ first ever competitive international strike even more pivotal as the Northern Irish opened up a four-point gap in second place. “I probably haven’t had a better night in football,” Dallas (inset) said. “It will take a hell of a lot to beat that personally. Scoring for my country is something I have always dreamed about and it’s something I will always cherish for the rest of my life. It could be the biggest goal I ever score given what it means for the group but we can’t worry about anyone else.” Northern Ireland looked sapped towards the end of the 90 minutes in Baku, where temperatures during the day neared 30C. It was fatigue that Dallas was feeling when Jonny Evans’ clever pass inside reached him in the area before he dispatched the finish to send the 300-odd Northern Irish fans into a state of delirium. “I was going to take a touch and hit it with my left but I was tired,” Dallas explained of his goal. “It was a long 90 minutes. It ran across me and I’ve managed to drag it back into the bottom corner, maybe if I’d connected too well with it the defender could have blocked it.”