Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Work still to be done after easy night for Germans
Northern Ireland .... 1 Germany .... 3
MICHAEL O’NEILL insists Northern Ireland’s World Cup quest won’t be dented by last night’s 3-1 defeat to Germany at Windsor Park.
A stunning 79-second strike from Sebastian Rudy and further goals from Sandro Wagner and Joshua Kimmich won the group for the reigning world champions.
The tireless Josh Magennis did pull one back in added time but it couldn’t prevent Northern Ireland falling to their first home qualifying defeat in four years.
Magennis admitted it was a steep “learning curve” against FIFA’S top ranked side but O’neill is confident the country can bounce back in Sunday’s final group game in Norway.
He said: “We’ll look at the permutations over the next
couple of days but there’s no guarantee our current points tally will be enough.
“We have to make sure we get a result in Norway, whether it’s three points or a draw. I don’t think we’ll have any less confidence after this result.”
O’neill (inset with German boss Joachim Low), who reaped dividends when he switched from a three man defence to a 4-2-3-1 formation in the second period, admits Rudy’s long distance goal just two minutes was a blow.
“It’s the worst start we could have had,” he said. “There’s very little you could do about it. Maybe the clearance could have been better but there was real quality in the strike.
“It never gave us a chance to settle into the game. The approach we had designed was to stay in the game for as long as possible, so it made it difficult for us.
“The first 20 minutes knocked us back. We gradually clawed our way back and we couldn’t have asked any more in the second half. I think a 3-0 scoreline would have been harsh.
“You’re always disappointed but 3-1 is a respectable scoreline and it doesn’t damage our healthy goal difference.”
A further plus for Northern Ireland was a competitive debut for Surrey-born Millwall midfielder George Saville who was a late replacement for Corry Evans. Saville, who qualifies through his Fermanagh-born grandmother, said: “I was over the moon to make a debut, especially against the world champions. It was a very proud moment.
“We were 2-0 down when I went on and Michael just said, ‘Go on and enjoy it’. He told me to enjoy the occasion and I was able to do that.
“The result was disappointing but we were playing against the world champions so we can’t be too hard on ourselves.
“We will put this result out of our minds and focus on another big game in Norway.”