Bara: I like Luke of him

IAN BARACLOUGH has been won over by new keeper Luke Southwood after he shone on his Northern Ireland debut.

The Reading stopper (above) replaced Conor Hazard at half-time in Friday night’s 3-1 friendly win in Luxembourg.

And the 24-year-old made an instant impression with a series of saves before Baraclough’s men ran out late winners.

Southwood is pushing to start in Tuesday’s clash with Hungary and boss Baraclough said: “Luke is very tidy with his hands and very good with his feet. For someone making his debut, he looked very comfortable.”

But one player who will not be feauring in Belfast is Jonny Evans.

The Leicester defender played 63 minutes on his return ahead of schedule from a hamstring problem, which had kept him out since December.

Baraclough said: “He would probably have wanted to go on for longer, but it was always the plan to go for an hour.

“Jonny will be happy, Leicester will be happy and we’re certainly happy.”