Soccer

Michael O'Neill signs off from Windsor Park with Dutch draw but biggest challenge lies down the road for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and captain Steven Davis at the end of Saturday night's 0-0 draw with the Netherlands at Windsor Park. Picture by PA
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and captain Steven Davis at the end of Saturday night's 0-0 draw with the Netherlands at Windsor Park. Picture by PA Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and captain Steven Davis at the end of Saturday night's 0-0 draw with the Netherlands at Windsor Park. Picture by PA

Euro 2020 qualification Group C: Northern Ireland 0 Netherlands 0

MINUTES before kick-off on Saturday night, a message flashed up on the huge screen in the corner of ground that drew one of the biggest roars on a charged evening at Windsor Park.

‘Michael O’Neill, thank you’ it read, before a highlight reel showcasing some of the most memorable moments from his eight years in charge, spliced together with some stirring words from the man himself.

He didn’t want it to be about him, but with achieving automatic qualification an almost impossibly tall task and a play-off place already guaranteed, how could it not be?

The Ballymena man was appointed Stoke City manager on the eve of this last round of Euro 2020 qualifiers, with Northern Ireland requiring wins over the heavyweight pairing of the Netherlands and Germany to guarantee their spot at next summer’s tournament.

They gave Ronald Koeman’s Dutch outfit plenty at times on Saturday night but, with the game going flat after captain Steven Davis blazed a minute penalty over the bar on the half hour, a stalemate looked the most likely outcome for most of the second half.

It speaks volumes of how far Northern Ireland have come under O’Neill’s stewardship that they walked from the pitch disappointed with a draw against one of Europe’s top dogs.

The unnecessarily convoluted play-off permutation picture will not become clear until the final round of qualifying games are completed tomorrow night.

And, even then, all those involved must wait until the Uefa draw in Bucharest on Friday to find out exactly what lies ahead in the one-legged semi-final on March 26 next year, with home advantage dictated by who is the highest-ranked nation in each pairing by the time the fat lady sings.

Those are matters beyond O’Neill’s control for now, as he takes his team to Frankfurt for tomorrow night’s dead rubber against the Germans.

In the wake of his appointment at Stoke, O’Neill confirmed his intention to not only see out the Group C campaign with Northern Ireland, but also any potential play-off.

It is unclear what stage the Irish Football Association are at in terms of appointing a successor, or how they will choose to proceed in light of O’Neill’s continued involvement.

What is clear, though, is that the Ballymena man already appears fed up of being asked about combining his commitments at the Britannia Stadium with such a crucial period for Northern Ireland in March – with a play-off decider also on the cards on March 31 if they safely negotiate the semi-final five days earlier.

“It’s dead easy,” he replied, “we’re going to turn up on a Sunday and play on a Thursday, pretty much. I can pick my squad now. I’ll name it tomorrow if you want. There’s not 40 players out there that we’re not picking.”

And preparing for whoever their opponents will be? Not an issue either, he insists.

“Oh we’ll be able to do that, that’s not a problem.

“The opponents don’t play between now and then, they’ve already played. We’re not going to go and watch individual players playing for their clubs so the work we do on the opponent, we’ll have that well in advance.

“People are making a lot out of this situation which doesn’t really exist. To be honest, no-one is better to judge this than me because I actually do the job and the reality of the situation is, the alternative to put a coach into a play-off situation with three days preparation wouldn’t be fair to the players, it wouldn’t be fair to the association given what’s at stake, and it wouldn’t be fair to the coach to go and prepare.”

And O’Neill has plenty to be positive about on the back of Saturday night’s draw with the Dutch.

Ahead of that game he asked for a similarly aggressive, enterprising performance as they delivered in the first half against Germany at Windsor two months ago.

They did just that, but unfortunately it was the lack of cutting edge – and a bit of luck when needed – that would haunt them as it had against Joachim Low’s side.

When Corry Evans charged down goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen four yards from his line three minutes in, the ball could easily have ended up in the net.

Instead it spun towards the byline the wrong side of the post, with the danger eventually averted. A minute, former Crusaders winger Gavin Whyte drove inside from the right flank before a beautiful reverse left-footed pass left Paddy McNair in acres of space, with Dutch full-back Daley Blind nowhere to be seen.

The Middlesbrough midfielder - who once again limited Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong to only occasional flashes of inspiration - delivered an inch-perfect cross into the box, but Josh Magennis’s header to drift agonisingly wide of the far post.

The biggest opportunity was yet to come though, as Polish referee Szymon Maciniak pointed to the spot when George Saville’s close-range effort, following another brilliant McNair cross, caught the arm of Joel Veltman.

After some shenanigans from Cillessen, up stepped Davis. Winning his 116th cap, this must have been a moment he had dream of, but it soon turned to a nightmare as he blazed high and handsome into the stand.

The fire went out of the Northern Ireland performance after that and, with Ronald Koeman’s happy enough with the point that would secure their automatic qualification, what transpired in the second half was a dull, drab affair.

With the final whistle nearing, the home support expressed their gratitude to O’Neill and he reciprocated once all was said and done. They have another opportunity to sing his name at the Commerzbank Arena tomorrow night, but the clock is ticking.

And the real challenge, the only one that matters for Northern Ireland now, lies further down the road.

Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, Dallas, Cathcart, Jonny Evans, Lewis (Thompson 81), Corry Evans (McGinn 71), Davis, McNair, Whyte, Saville (Smith 58), Magennis.

Booked: Davis, Dallas.

Netherlands: Cillessen, Veltman, De Ligt, Van Dijk, Blind, de Roon (Propper 36), Frenkie de Jong, Berghuis (Luuk de Jong 65), van de Beek, Promes, Babel (Ake 90).

Booked: de Roon, Veltman

Referee: S Marciniak (Poland)

Att: 18,404