Peacock- Farrell the hero as Irish snatch a late point

Gavin Whyte’s late header earned ten- man Northern Ireland an unlikely draw i n Bucharest and t heir first ever Nations League point, but manager I an Baraclough owed a huge debt to his goalkeeper Bailey Peacock- Farrell.

The former Leeds United keeper s howed why Burnley have handed him a new contract, if not yet a debut, as he starred on his first competitive outing since Northern Ireland’s last match in November.

The Irish were frustrated for much of the night, falling behind when George Puscas poked Romania in front after 25 minutes, and then losing Josh Magennis to two soft yellow cards before half- time.

Peacock- Farrell made a string of top- class saves to keep his side in it in the second half before substitutes Kyle Lafferty and Whyte combined to snatch an equaliser four minutes from time.

There was still time for Peacock- Farrell to make another fine save, pushing Denis Alibec’s shot on to the crossbar.

The second half will offer huge encouragement to Baraclough – appointed to replace Michael O’neill back in April but only now getting his first game in charge.