O’Neill’s men pull through

NORTHERN IRELAND toiled to three points against 10-man San Marino after goals from Steven Davis, Kyle Lafferty and Jamie Ward.

Home fans were just happy to be ahead at half-time at Windsor Park after an indifferent first-half performance from their favourites.

The party atmosphere which accompanied the pre-match ‘Lap of Legends’ and the official opening of the new stadium subsided somewhat as the home side struggled to break down their opponents.

Relief was the overriding emotion when Davis broke the deadlock. The lively Josh Magennis was bundled over in the penalty box following a Shane Ferguson cross. Up stepped skipper Davis who fired home the resulting spot-kick.

Four minutes into the second period and the task got a whole lot easier for the hosts as San Marino went down to 10 men following a moment of madness.

Mirko Palazzi, already on a booking, stepped in front of Michael McGovern as he attemped to throw the ball out to earn himself a second yellow card and his marching orders.

The game was wrapped up with 11 minutes to go when substitute Lafferty doubled the lead. Ferguson crossed from the left and the striker slotted home from close range.

The icing was added to the cake when another Ferguson cross was finished by Jamie Ward before Lafferty grabbed his second of the match.