Two star names four days apart in the Nations League and neither could find a way to unlock the Northern Ireland defence. In Tbilisi last week, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georgia were frustrated by a player of the match performance from visiting goalkeeper Pierce Charles that featured saving a penalty from the Ballon d'Or nominee in a 1-0 win. Against Dominik Szoboszlai and Hungary back in Belfast on Monday, Charles barely had a save to make with the visitor's first shot on target coming in the 90th minute of the 0-0 draw.
Having returned to the second tier of the Uefa Nations League after successive campaigns in League C, the most impressive aspect of Northern Ireland's first 180 minutes back at this level has undoubtedly been their defensive solidity. Indeed, Hungary became the eighth opposition team to fail to score at Windsor Park in the past 10 games with only Germany and Switzerland bucking the trend. "There's a lot for us to be positive about," said manager Michael O'Neill "It's two clean sheets in the group, eight clean sheets out of ten games [in Belfast].
"I am proud of how they played tonight, they couldn't have given us any more." While O'Neill spoke of a "snobbery" about the way his team play in his post-match interview with BBC Sport NI, his fingerprints were again all over Monday's performance given his focus on shape, organisation and hard work off the ball. The clean sheet was all the more impressive given the absence of Daniel Ballard. The Sunderland defender picked up a hamstring injury in Tbilisi and has been ruled out for the remainder of the window.
He was replaced by Ruairi McConville against Hungary and the Norwich man performed well in the back-three alongside Ciaron Brown and Tom Atcheson. Oxford United's Brown was perhaps a surprise starter for some in Tbilisi but more than justified his selection against Georgia before he backed it up against Hungary. "Ciaron has been terrific now for quite some time, really, to be honest," said O'Neill.
"Ciaron is very reliable. He's playing his club football at the moment in League One, he's a better player than that. He has a lot of attributes that, for me, means he should be playing at a higher level than the club level he's playing." With Hull City's Paddy McNair yet to start in this four-game window, and Trai Hume and Brodie Spencer other options to play at centre-back, defensive depth has become a real strength of this side.
If the options are as strong as at any time since Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley, Aaron Hughes and Craig Cathcart were Premier League regulars a decade ago, it is a different story in attacking positions. At the other end of the pitch, things remain a work in progress. Northern Ireland were the markedly better team in the first half against Hungary, although after a 5,000-mile round trip to Tbilisi appeared to tire as the game worn on.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
