Soccer

Kyle Lafferty double keeps Northern Ireland’s dream alive

Michael O’Neill’s side make it four wins from five in Group F

Northern Ireland’s Kyle Lafferty gets his shot away despite the challenge of Finland’s Paulus Arajuuri during the Group F game at Windsor Park in Belfast. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters/Livepic
Northern Ireland’s Kyle Lafferty gets his shot away despite the challenge of Finland’s Paulus Arajuuri during the Group F game at Windsor Park in Belfast. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters/Livepic
Sun Mar 29 2015 - 20:53

Northern Ireland 2 Finland 1

Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty paid tribute to the team's effort after he starred in a 2-1 win over Finland.

Lafferty’s first-half brace was enough to win the game for Michael O’Neill’s side and keep them only a point behind European Championship qualifying Group F leaders Romania, who beat the Faroe Islands 1-0.

They had to endure a nervous finish after Berat Sadik’s late goal but held on for victory.

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Lafferty said: “It was obviously nervous but we deserved to win the game. It was excellent today, the attitude, the heart and the team performance.”

The Turkish-based frontman's first goal was an excellent volley on the turn before he nodded in the second, taking him second among his country's all-time leading scorers ahead of Colin Clarke and Billy Gillespie.

And he said: “Obviously it’s all going right for me at the minute and I’m enjoying it.

“The first goal, I decided to hit it first time and luckily it went in. But it’s down to the team, everyone was excellent today. Although I’m getting the goals and the rewards you have to look at the team performance.”

Defender Jonny Evans, currently serving a six-match ban for Manchester United for spitting, was delighted to be able to contribute for his team.

“It was great to be out there and especially to get the win,” he said.

“We ground out the result and Kyle scored two great goals.

“It puts us in a really good position going into June, we play Romania here and it’ll be a top-of-the-group clash.”

O’Neill saluted Lafferty, who now has five goals in five games in this qualifying campaign.

He said: “Confidence is obviously a big issue, he had a bit of a difficult year but he’s put that behind him, he’s playing with a smile on his face and he recognises how important he is to this team.

“He scored two fantastic goals, we emphasise getting the ball in the box with quality and we saw the benefits of that.”

Four wins from five games give Northern Ireland an excellent chance of at least finishing in the top three in the group if not the two automatic qualifying places.

O’Neill said: “We’re eight (points) ahead of Finland, eight at least ahead of Greece (who play Hungary later on Sunday), we’ve still got a cushion over Hungary and we have a game in June where a win will take us top of the group.

“We’re looking forward to a good week or 10 days with the players and hopefully a similar performance. (Romania) are an excellent team and they top the group so we know we’ll have to be at our very, very best to beat them.”