JOSH ROCKS BELS WITH A LATE WINNER

JOSH MAGENNIS pounced for an 87th-minute winner as Northern Ireland sealed the perfect start to their Euro 2020 campaign with a lastgasp win at Windsor Park.

Three days after disposing of Estonia, Michael O’neill’s men repeated the trick to make it maximum points from their opening two games.

In a perilous pool that includes Germany and Holland, six home points against the two lowest seeds were essential.

Leicester City defender Jonny Evans headed home a 30th-minute opener, before a deflected Igor Stasevich effort levelled things three minutes later.

Magennis (above), a late substitute for Niall Mcginn, won it three minutes from time when he rounded off a superb move involving Stuart Dallas and Paddy Mcnair.

No fewer than EIGHT of the Belarusian starting line-up were aged 30 or over, and the visitors were well organised and durable early on. The hosts had to wait until the N Ireland Holland Germany Estonia Belarus

P2 2 1 1 2

W2 1 1 0 0

D0 0 0 0 0

L0 1 0 1 2

F4 6 3 0 1

A1 3 2 2 6 6 3 3 0 0 20th minute for their first effort on target when Mcnair’s shot forced a diving save from Andrei Kilmovich.

Kyle Lafferty also forced the keeper into a sprawling parry with a bouncing shot from distance before the breakthrough arrived on the half-hour mark.

Mcginn’s delivery from a short Mcnair corner was flicked on by Steven Davis at the near post and Evans pounced for his third international goal.

But the buoyant mood inside the stadium was punctured three minutes later when BATE winger Stasevich equalised courtesy of a wicked deflection off Dallas.

The ball struck the Leeds man in the midriff, squirming and looping its way into the night air and over the back-pedalling Bailey Peacock-farrell.

O’neill introduced matchwinner Magennis for Mcginn in the 68th minute as the Green and White Army lived in hope of a late winner.

Then Dallas fed the overlapping Mcnair, and the midfielder’s low, driven cross found the Bolton striker, who swept home from close range.