McAULEY’S BEST EFFORT

GARETH McAULEY lasted the full 90 minutes for West Brom at Manchester United on Saturday. Not bad for a 37-yearold. He has earned a one-year contract and is still keeping his place in the Northern Ireland team. Last November he scored his ninth international goal. The significance of that? It means he equalled George Best. Admittedly, McAuley took a little longer — 70 caps, compared to Best’s 37 — but then the West Brom man has played his entire career in defence. It could be said he struck lucky with the opposition, too — three against the Faroe Islands and one against San Marino. Yet four of Best’s were scored against Cyprus, plus another against Albania, and one more versus Turkey when they were still among the weakest teams in Europe. McAuley scored in the finals stage of a tournament, too — against Ukraine at Euro 2016 — something Best never had the opportunity to achieve. And no, the present generation of Northern Ireland players cannot bear comparison to one of the greatest players to grace the game; but what will never be said is that they do not punch their weight.