Northern Ireland v Austria

Words Nigel Tilson

BARACLOUGH’S BOYS EMERGE VICTORIOUS IN SARAJEVO SHOWDOWN Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough promised his team would give it their all in the UEFA Euro 2020 play- off match against Bosnia and Herzegovina – and they did not let him down.

Baraclough’s boys triumphed in the Path B Play-Off semi-final in Sarajevo last Thursday with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out win after the game ended 1-1 after extra time. Liam Boyce, who along with fellow substitute Conor Washington entered the fray with just minutes to go, scored the all-important spot-kick which secured Northern Ireland’s place in the play-off final in Belfast on 12 November where they will face Slovakia, who defeated Republic of Ireland 4-2 on penalties in the other Path B last four game. That match ended 0-0 after 120 minutes. Northern Ireland were very much the underdogs going in to the Sarajevo showdown but they gave as good as

they got in a rugged encounter in front of 1800 Bosnian fans at the 13.000-capacity Grbavica Stadium. Steven Davis, as expected, broke legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings’ caps record for Northern Ireland. The captain now has 120 caps under his belt and the players he leads ensured he had a night to remember. The hosts took the lead on 13 minutes. Branimir Cipetic was played in down the right. Jonny Evans went to close him down but slipped and Cipetic headed for the bye- line before laying the ball back where Rade Krunic spun and slammed the ball home. Northern Ireland almost equalised minutes later when Corry Evans produced a super cross for Josh Magennis but the striker’s

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