McGinn’s strike 10 years in the making

IT HAS been a long wait for Niall McGinn since he made his Northern Ireland debut more than a decade ago, but the Aberdeen winger’s first goal at Windsor Park set up a valuable Group C win. It looked like being a night of frustration in Belfast until McGinn fired home from 10 yards in the 56th minute after Kyle Lafferty controlled a cross from the excellent Jordan Jones and prodded the ball to his team-mate. The 31-year-old also scored the opening goal of Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifying for us. He doesn’t always start and sometimes we’ll play with someone else in that area, but he’s a player who still has a lot to offer at this level.’ No one was more relieved to see it go in than Paddy McNair, who was guilty of an awful first-half miss when he headed over from four yards out. Leeds goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell made an important save to deny Henri Anier one-on-one before Steven Davis made sure of the victory, converting from the penalty spot after Estonia skipper Karol Mets fouled George Saville. O’Neill had emphasised the importance of victory in the first two games against Estonia and Belarus here on Sunday, with Germany and Holland waiting later in the campaign. ‘We knew the significance of getting off to a good start,’ said O’Neill. ‘We set ourselves a target of six points from the first two games and we’ve given ourselves the opportunity to do that.’

(4-3-3): Peacock-Farrell 7; Dallas 7, Cathcart 6, J Evans 6.5, Lewis 6.5; McNair 5, Davis 7, Saville 6.5; McGinn 7.5 (McLaughlin 84), Lafferty 7 (Magennis 76), (Ferguson 81). McGinn 56, Davis 75 (pen). Michael O’Neill 6. Ivan Bebek 6.