NORWOOD: THIS WILL HAUNT US

OLIVER NORWOOD summed up Northern Ireland’s World Cup fate in one word: Shafted.

As darkness fell on Basel last night, Michael O’neill’s men found it hard to stomach that a blunder had cost them their place in Russia.

There was deep despair that Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan’s awful decision to award a penalty in the first leg in Belfast had gifted the Swiss a 1-0 lead they held on to last night.

“Shafted is the only way to put it,” said Norwood after the game.

“I will think about that penalty decision for years to come. It’s the only goal between the two sides and it has cost us a place in the World Cup.

“We were angered, upset and disappointed with what happened in Belfast.

“We are devastated as a squad, but we can stand here and complain all night. I just hope we put in a performance that everyone in Northern Ireland is proud of.”

Norwood is acutely aware of speculation that the Scottish FA is poised to make a move for Michael O’neill, with Sunderland and Rangers also being linked with the Edinburgh based coach.

But Norwood hopes last night’s display helps persuade O’neill to stay on for the Euro 2020 campaign.

The Fulham playmaker also hopes senior players Gareth Mcauley (37), Aaron Hughes (38) and Chris Brunt (33) remain available for selection.

He said: “We all want Michael to stay and we hope this performance would make him want to remain in charge.

“We have some good young players coming through and we have players with a lot of experience as well. I hope we stick together and all the players will remain available for one more campaign.”