BARACLOUGH’S PLAY-OFF PLACE HOPES FADING

HEAD coach ian Baraclough will require the mother of all pep talks when Northern ireland make the trip to Bulgaria for what looks like a lost cause in their bid to qualify for Qatar 2022. saturday’s defeat left his Northern ireland team six points adrift of second-placed switzerland in Group C. With only three games left to play, there now seems little chance of earning a play-off place. ‘We’ve got to try and lick our wounds now and get ready for Tuesday,’ said ex-Motherwell boss Baraclough ahead of tomorrow night’s clash in sofia. ‘We have to put ourselves in a position where, if the swiss slip up, we can capitalise.’ Jamal Lewis’s controversial 37th-minute sending-off overshadowed the game. Referee slavko Vincic’s decision to show a second yellow card for time-wasting in the first half proved pivotal. Northern ireland already effectively had one arm tied behind their backs at the stade de Geneve, having seen seven players — including Jonny Evans, Corry Evans, Ali McCann and shayne Lavery — ruled out. ‘You can’t knock the spirit or the camaraderie, the togetherness of the team,’ Baraclough added. ‘We knew that we would leave gaps the longer the game went on but they’ve given absolutely everything, they’ve put bodies on the line and they have put us in a position going into the last few minutes. ‘You need those leaders. i’d much rather lose by two or three than to not have a go and try and do something about the one goal.’ steven Zuber and Christian Fassnacht scored in stoppage time of each half for the hosts, but it might have been a different night for the irish had lone front man Conor Washington taken a great chance in the early stages when he was through on goal but hit his shot straight at swiss keeper Yann sommer.