Soccer

Gutsy Northern Ireland so close to glorious victory over European champions Italy

Northern Ireland&rsquo;s Conor Washington shoots at the Italian goal in the 90th minute - only for visiting captain Leonardo Bonucci to clear off the line. <br />Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker
Northern Ireland’s Conor Washington shoots at the Italian goal in the 90th minute - only for visiting captain Leonardo Bonucci to clear off the line.
Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker
Northern Ireland’s Conor Washington shoots at the Italian goal in the 90th minute - only for visiting captain Leonardo Bonucci to clear off the line.
Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker

World Cup 2022 Uefa qualifying Group C: Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy

NO goals but plenty of glory for Northern Ireland, despite spurning a great opportunity fopr a stunning success against the European champions in the 90th minute.

The score would have been more dramatic than an opera had substitute Conor Washington won it after he nicked the ball off goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma then calmly drifted left before shooting - only for Italy captain Leonardo Bonucci to hack the ball off the line.

The hosts spent much of this match defending against visitors who needed a win, but although goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell made a few saves, only one of them was a real stretch for him, and that in the 80th minute.

In the end even a 1-0 Italy win wouldn’t have earned them automatic qualification as Switzerland saw off Bulgaria 3-0 but this dramatic draw will be sung about for years after by the Green and White Army - perhaps even operatically.

Both national anthems were rendered in that fashion by singer Carly Paoli, who discarded an Italian blue robe to appear in full Northern Ireland kit, setting the tone for a memorable evening.

Italy had only suffered one defeat in their last 40 matches, albeit last month in the Nations League semi-finals against Spain, so toppling the European champions, ranked fourth in the world, would have been some feat - but Ian Baraclough’s men came mighty close.

While the home boss will bask in this result, ensuring third place in the group and an unbeaten home record in qualification, questions will surely be asked of his Italian counterpart Roberto Mancini.

Needing a win, for more than an hour his team played without a centre-forward, or at least only deployed a 5’4” player in that position, namely Lorenzo Insigne. Shortly after the Swiss went 2-0 up Mancini did send on Andrea Belotti for midfielder Nicolo Barella but it was a clear case of too little, too late.

Mancini kept the same back four which started their 1-1 home draw against Switzerland, but made alterations to midfield and attack. AC Milan’s highly-rated Sandro Tonali came into the central area in place of Juventus’s Manuel Locatelli, while Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi - who netted the opener in the 2-0 win over NI in Parma - replaced Belotti up front.

That meant the Italian number 10, Insigne, was a ‘false nine’, the diminutive Napoli man dropping deep, trying to drag Jonny Evans out of position - but NI’s defensive talisman was magnificent throughout.

So were the other centre halves, Craig Cathcart and Tom Flanagan, the latter only starting because of injury ruling Paddy McNair out completely, but the Sunderland player was superb.

In two other changes Jamal Lewis took over from Shane Ferguson at left wing-back, and Gavin Whyte came into attack instead of Conor Washington, and both performed creditably.

The visitors began with a clear tactic of targeting both Flanagan and Lewis, but the former made a confident start by heading a long ball back to his goalkeeper.

However, Jorginho swept the ball over the top to release right-back Giovanni di Lorenzo beyond Lewis, and the Napoli defender chipped a cross-shot which Peacock-Farrell had to acrobatically tip away,

Juve’s Enrico Chiesa was hugging the left touchline, but rather than that allowing him space to get on the ball it only brought him closer to boss Mancini, and the pair were gesturing extravagantly at each other in frustration as early as the 13th minute.

Whyte was lively in the opening quarter hour, drawing a booking from Tonali who hauled him down to end a rapid counter-attack, but the game soon settled into Italian attack against Northern Irish defence.

Chiesa and Insigne briefly switched positions, but the latter’s first effort of note came from a corner by Berardi which was played all the way to him outside the area - but his curling shot was well held by Peacock-Farrell.

That duo combined again when Berardi broke, but Insigne could only poke his shot and the home keeper gratefully fell on the soft attempt.

Italy sent on Bryan Cristante for Tonali at half-time, the first of five substitutions, but they never solved the problem of a defiant home defence.

Indeed the hosts created the best chance of the match so far less than five minutes into the second half, when Whyte’s deep crossfield ball found Lewis, who intelligently laid it off immediately to George Saville, but although he struck his shot firm and low it was straight at Donnarumma, who was able to parry it away.

Yet Italy were rattled, as shown by Cristante playing a straight pass straight out of play.

They soon settled again, though, and were obviously aware of Peacock-Farrell’s weakness at his near post, with Insigne and Berardi - the latter from a free kick - both shooting at that area, but the on-loan Owl was wise to them.

A clever inter-change involving Italy’s stand-in skipper Bonucci and Berardi teed up Chiesa, but he bent his shot just wide.

At that point Mancini sent on Belotti, and five minutes later replaced Jorginho and Insigne with Federico Bernardeschi and Manuel Locatelli

Even so the increasingly buoyant home support began comparing the Italians unfavourably to San Marino as they still laboured to open up the green wall.

Harking back to the days when they were back-to-back World Cup winners, in the 1930s, Italy were soon shaping up in a 2-3-5 formation - and that was before they replaced left-back Emerson with forward Gianluca Scamacca, moments after the Lyon player’s piledriver was tipped wide by Peacock-Farrell.

Yet NI then almost broke the deadlock themselves when Lewis slipped in on the left and although he cut the ball back outside the penalty area Dallas galloped forward into acres of space - but fired his long range shot wide.

With the visitors needing to score not just once but twice they piled forward frantically.

The home crowd were already on their feet, chanting ‘Stand up for the Ulstermen’, but were almost dancing with delight when Washington took the ball around an advancing Donnarumma but then shot weakly, allowing Bonucci to save some Italian blushes.

However, a point was precious, and Northern Ireland can look forward positively to next year after a terrific performance combining the passion and defensive discipline for which the Italians are so famed.

Northern Ireland (5-3-2): Peacock-Farrell; Dallas, Flanagan, J Evans, Cathcart, Lewis; McCann, Davis (capt.), Saville (C Evans, 72); Whyte (Washington, 72), Magennis.

Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci (capt.), Acerbi, Emerson (Scamacca, 80); Tonali (Cristante, h-t), Jorginho (Locatelli, 68), Barella; Berardi (Belotti, 63), Insigne (Bernardeschi, 68), Chiesa.

Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania).