:00:39. > :00:43.for just over a year-and-a-half, but Michael O'Neill is still without a
:00:43. > :00:52.win as Northern Ireland manager, and it isn't going to get any easier
:00:52. > :00:56.tonight, as Fabio Capello's Russia come to Windsor Park for a
:00:56. > :00:59.rearranged World Cup Qualifier. rearranged World Cup Qualifier.
:00:59. > :01:03.I can't believe it. After three draws and two defeats, Northern
:01:03. > :01:08.Ireland's hopes of World Cup qualification are over. Manager
:01:08. > :01:13.Michael O'Neill is without his main attacking threat, and the country's
:01:13. > :01:23.all-time leading scorer is without a club, so goals are at a premium.
:01:23. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:27.In March, Russia visited Windsor Park, and they brought their
:01:27. > :01:31.Siberian weather conditions with with them. Five months later, and
:01:31. > :01:35.they're back, and the weather won't be an excuse if O'Neill fails to
:01:35. > :01:38.pick up his first win as manager. believe they're the best side in the
:01:38. > :01:42.group. I think they're one of the top six teams in Europe at the
:01:42. > :01:47.moment, top players playing in the top clubs, a manager with vast
:01:47. > :01:51.experience as well, and so yeah, it would be a huge scalp for us to take
:01:51. > :01:55.a team of this quality. It's not so much just the lack of goals that's
:01:55. > :01:58.been, I suppose, the disappointing thing. It's more the fact that when
:01:58. > :02:02.we have been dominant in games and have had chances, we haven't taken
:02:02. > :02:06.those, and then subsequently we have maybe suffered because of that. And
:02:06. > :02:11.the captain will want to mark his 60th cap with a positive performance
:02:11. > :02:14.against a side who are 93 positions above Northern Ireland in the world
:02:14. > :02:17.rankings. If you looked at the performance
:02:17. > :02:21.that we have had, we've created a number of chances in each game.
:02:22. > :02:26.Unfortunately, we haven't taken them, and at this level you get
:02:26. > :02:29.punished for that as has been proven so far, really, in the games, but
:02:29. > :02:32.chances may be few and far between because the Russians are well
:02:32. > :02:42.organised, and gave up too many chances, so if we do get the
:02:42. > :02:45.
:02:46. > :02:48.opportunity, we'll have to take David Healy tonight, and Martin
:02:48. > :02:53.Paterson, who scored just one international goal, will lead the
:02:54. > :02:58.line for Northern Ireland. Russia have trying to go top of Group F.
:02:58. > :03:03.Northern Ireland are looking for just their third win in 34 matches.
:03:03. > :03:09.I'll be getting the thoughts of former international Keith galespy
:03:09. > :03:16.later, but first here's the commentary. Our commentator is
:03:16. > :03:26.Jacqui Fullerton. It never rains, but it pours. At the
:03:26. > :03:38.
:03:38. > :03:41.11th hour, Johnny Evans has pulled penetrate on the flanks. As we look
:03:41. > :03:44.at Russia, there's a certain consistency in Fabio Capello's
:03:44. > :03:48.consistency in Fabio Capello's selection. It's 4-3-3, and it's
:03:48. > :03:58.exactly the same 11 who played in their 2-0 win in Moscow last
:03:58. > :03:58.
:03:58. > :04:40.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:04:40. > :04:50.referee tonight, a crowd of about 12 or 13,000 here tonight, including
:04:50. > :04:54.
:04:54. > :05:00.Ferguson, a chance for Northern Ireland in the opening minutes to
:05:00. > :05:10.put some pressure, but we couldn't get the connection there. Jamie
:05:10. > :05:28.
:05:28. > :05:38.Ward, a man who started the game in hard to believe he made his debut 16
:05:38. > :05:38.
:05:38. > :06:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:06:31. > :06:37.Akinfeev. He got two goals, two penalties at the weekend. He scored
:06:37. > :06:41.both for Aberdeen, and he wasn't so far away. That was a good idea to
:06:41. > :06:46.hit the differ, but in the end, it wasn't on the target. The idea was
:06:46. > :06:56.wasn't on the target. The idea was right, though. Well done by young
:06:56. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:07.but the foot was up - from Martin Paterson. It looks like Berezutskiy
:07:07. > :07:12.- who felt that. He can't believe the decision. "I went for the ball,"
:07:12. > :07:22.he says. He did, but that was a bit high. And he will know that in his
:07:22. > :07:28.
:07:28. > :07:38.spell at England - but what a club career he had, Fabio Capello, seven
:07:38. > :08:00.
:08:00. > :08:10.titles in Italy, two titles, League This is dangerous - great defending.
:08:10. > :08:27.
:08:27. > :08:36.determination, Northern Ireland. And that's good to see. It's the fourth
:08:36. > :08:45.home game in this group, two draws, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. A defeat,
:08:45. > :08:52.2-0 to Israel in their last game. When I look at those games, we could
:08:52. > :09:02.have won all three. That would be another six points, and we'd be in
:09:02. > :09:29.
:09:29. > :09:39.Hughes, who spotted the danger, wasn't a bad ball from Bystrov. He
:09:39. > :09:39.
:09:39. > :10:22.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:10:22. > :10:32.was. The flag was up, and Shirokov is having a right go at the
:10:32. > :10:32.
:10:32. > :10:42.full-back. Great defending there, there. They thought they were in,
:10:42. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :11:33.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:11:33. > :11:39.but they weren't. Well done, that brave goal keeping, and it was. And
:11:39. > :11:49.he just, just got his hands away in time, Roy Carl, good thinking by the
:11:49. > :12:00.
:12:00. > :12:03.lovely ball - Kerzhakov in there. But the man from Olympiakis did his
:12:03. > :12:13.But the man from Olympiakis did his job and did it well. Berezutskiy
:12:13. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :12:56.too was Paterson with the rebound. My goodness. Could well have been a
:12:56. > :13:01.first international goal for Jamie Ward. They took the free kick
:13:01. > :13:09.quickly. He is a striker, and my goodness, he struck that. That was
:13:09. > :13:19.almost in, from the rebound. A lovely hit, keeper beat beaten,
:13:19. > :13:25.
:13:25. > :13:30.venue alive, about five minutes from halftime. What a lift that would
:13:30. > :13:38.have been - Michael O'Neill has his head in his hands below me. You lose
:13:38. > :13:44.Lafferty to injury. You lose Evans, Jonny Evans to illness. If that's
:13:44. > :13:47.not enough, you make it a hat-trick with that lovely effort from Ward, a
:13:47. > :13:57.scintillating shot it was, a scorcher. The complete keeper was
:13:57. > :14:00.
:14:00. > :14:10.beaten, but he did well on the fans come here to see. But they need
:14:10. > :14:36.
:14:36. > :14:44.does! It's 1-0. Martin Paterson Martin Paterson's second
:14:44. > :14:49.international goal. Northern Ireland's fourth goal of this
:14:50. > :14:56.campaign. And he won't know it, but it's a milestone. It's Northern
:14:56. > :15:02.Ireland's 350th goal at home, in a home international, and just their
:15:02. > :15:12.375th game since 1882. He'll not worry about the history. That looked
:15:12. > :15:18.
:15:18. > :15:24.the whistle. It's ever dangerous, and how he climbed, and how he
:15:24. > :15:27.powered in the header, McGinn, great ball. How is that for a finish? Your
:15:27. > :15:32.second international goal - the first one was a penalty in a
:15:32. > :15:42.friendly. That's his first World Cup goal, and is he happy? Oh, yes, he
:15:42. > :15:58.
:15:58. > :16:02.is. Differing emotions there from 1-0. That man there, his first goal
:16:03. > :16:06.as a Huddersfield Town player - what it means to him, to this crowd and
:16:07. > :16:12.to Northern Ireland! Will they salvage some pride at the end of
:16:12. > :16:22.this evening? There's still 45 minutes to go. At half-time, it's
:16:22. > :16:34.
:16:34. > :16:42.Cheryshev of Real Madrid, just signed a new four-year contract
:16:42. > :16:52.there. He's come inin place of Alan Dzagoev, the number ten who has gone
:16:52. > :16:56.
:16:56. > :16:59.It's a good ball. Northern Ireland deal with it. But no doubt Capello's
:16:59. > :17:09.men will be putting pressure on right from the beginning of this
:17:09. > :17:09.
:17:09. > :18:27.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:18:27. > :18:36.Ireland. But it was a poor ball in the new guy? It is, indeed,
:18:36. > :18:42.Cheryshev. Doesn't seem to be too happy. A little bit of hamstring
:18:42. > :18:51.trouble by the looks of things, and that doesn't go away in two minutes,
:18:51. > :18:59.and his game might be over almost before it started, and I think Gaza
:18:59. > :19:09.McAuley wasn't taking any prisoners there. Now, he's gone off. Will he
:19:09. > :19:10.
:19:10. > :19:20.be back on? Here's another, Aleksandr Samedov from Locomotiv
:19:20. > :19:36.
:19:36. > :19:40.Moscow. He's a midfielder, and the this time. He has been held up. The
:19:40. > :19:50.Russians play themselves very neatly out of trouble, but they've given it
:19:50. > :20:05.
:20:05. > :20:09.the Northern Ireland fans in this stadium - that lovely headed goal in
:20:09. > :20:16.the first half - Cathcart, McAuley up there for this corner - a second
:20:16. > :20:21.goal now as Ferguson takes it. Didn't get to McAuley. Ferguson will
:20:21. > :20:27.have another chance. Cathcart is at the back. There's the header. Oh,
:20:27. > :20:37.the flag is up. It won't count. He got the finish. But he won't get the
:20:37. > :20:50.
:20:50. > :20:55.not sure he's offside. Cathcart gets that away. That was a header. Yes,
:20:55. > :21:05.he was offside. When you look at it that way, his foot is over the line.
:21:05. > :21:23.
:21:24. > :21:33.The red man here is the other side the Russian player. Both have
:21:34. > :21:41.
:21:41. > :21:48.tumbled. That is a silly thing to he's booked here, and I think that
:21:48. > :21:58.is him out of the game against Portugal next month. Now, we'll see
:21:58. > :22:31.
:22:31. > :22:41.off United Kingdom there, a little McAuley is forward. Now, the referee
:22:41. > :23:17.
:23:17. > :23:19.given it away. And that's where they have to be that bit better, Northern
:23:19. > :23:29.have to be that bit better, Northern Ireland. They are leading, but
:23:29. > :23:29.
:23:29. > :24:25.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:24:25. > :24:31.through. Ignashevich surveys the this second half, the time ticking
:24:31. > :24:37.away. A brave tackle there of the Northern Ireland skipper, and here
:24:37. > :24:47.they have a chance of a break. It was just too close to the defender -
:24:47. > :24:47.
:24:47. > :26:17.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:26:17. > :26:23.it was Anyukov, in fact, cleared it Number 13 tonight is Corry Evans.
:26:23. > :26:30.And he's coming on for Niall McGinn, who is getting a rousing reception,
:26:30. > :26:35.and so he should. He's been busy. He has been industrious, plenty of
:26:35. > :26:41.running, a great cross in the first half to set up the goal. Now they're
:26:41. > :26:51.on a break of their own. Paterson on a break of their own. Paterson
:26:51. > :26:53.
:26:53. > :26:59.moves off left. Doesn't get the free Paterson will come off to a standing
:26:59. > :27:07.ovation. He has run himself to a standstill. That's what they think
:27:07. > :27:13.of him, and he deserves every clap that he's getting. The man whose
:27:13. > :27:23.goal may have won this World Cup qualifier, Martin Paterson. A little
:27:23. > :27:46.
:27:46. > :27:53.the press, the football wri writers waiting for that whistle. Is it
:27:53. > :27:57.going to be one of those nights like beating England here, beating Spain
:27:57. > :28:01.here, beating Spain, beating Denmark? When David Healy was in his
:28:01. > :28:05.pump - the referee has a look at his watch. It could be one of those
:28:05. > :28:12.nights. It's going to be the first win in the Group. It's going to be
:28:12. > :28:16.the first win for Michael O'Neill in his 10th international, the first
:28:16. > :28:20.win for Northern Ireland for two years, surely, if the referee would
:28:20. > :28:25.years, surely, if the referee would only blow his whistle. I think
:28:25. > :28:30.Paterson has just been named Man of the Match, the man who got that
:28:30. > :28:36.vital and only goal of the game. The referee brings it to an end. Can you
:28:36. > :28:43.believe it! It is one of those nights! Well done, Michael O'Neill,
:28:43. > :28:48.10th international, first victory - he'll be overjoyed. Take that! And
:28:48. > :28:54.world football and European football will be talking about that result.
:28:54. > :28:58.Northern Ireland, lowly Northern Ireland, Martin Paterson's goal
:28:58. > :29:02.beating ing a bunch of fancy, highly-rated Russians. It doesn't
:29:02. > :29:06.get much better than that. Aaron Hughes, a veteran. He's seen so much
:29:07. > :29:10.over the years. He'd enjoy this moment, but a great night. Jamie
:29:10. > :29:15.Ward, they all played their part. Jamie Ward hit the post in the first
:29:16. > :29:22.half. It's a night for those folks as well to enjoy. They have endured
:29:22. > :29:26.so much, and now, at last, they've got a victory. What a night at
:29:26. > :29:36.Windsor Park. Bring on Portugal next month. Final scoreline here, I'm
:29:36. > :29:40.
:29:40. > :29:45.delighted to say, at Windsor Park, sweet? Yeah, it's very sweet, you
:29:45. > :29:49.know? As I said, a great performance from the players. I thought
:29:49. > :29:52.tactically they were magnificent. The work rate was magnificent. Their
:29:52. > :29:55.togetherness as a team was outstanding but the quality of
:29:55. > :29:59.possession and the football we played was outstanding against one
:29:59. > :30:03.of the topsides in Europe. We managed to make it difficult for
:30:03. > :30:07.them. Roy I thought dealt with them comprehensively, and right through
:30:07. > :30:12.the team there was experience from the lads - McAuley, outstanding, and
:30:12. > :30:15.then from a number of the younger players as well. We have all watched
:30:15. > :30:17.the really frustrating, painful nights whenever you have created
:30:17. > :30:21.chance after chance. What do you think the difference is this
:30:21. > :30:26.evening? Can you single anything out? I don't think so. I don't think
:30:26. > :30:29.there is a difference. You look back at the Luxembourg and Azerbaijan
:30:29. > :30:35.games in particular, games we clearly should have won, and you
:30:35. > :30:40.start to feel as if maybe the team - there is a lack -- there is a lack
:30:40. > :30:43.of belief at times, but today spoke of the game. The players with lesser
:30:43. > :30:47.ambitions played a little bit, and the other players responded to that
:30:47. > :30:51.as well. Sometimes things just don't go for you. I don't think a lot of
:30:51. > :30:55.us has gone for us in this campaign. We have had to deal with difficult
:30:55. > :30:59.situations, even players not available to us. We have seen a lot
:30:59. > :31:04.of young players coming of age as international players. What a night
:31:04. > :31:08.for you. It's brilliant, obviously a goal and a good performance from
:31:08. > :31:12.myself, and mostly, Northern Ireland win. Talk me through the goal
:31:12. > :31:16.because I think you, like the rest of us, thought McGinn wasn't going
:31:16. > :31:20.to get there? No, he's quick. I know he's quick. I knew he was going to
:31:20. > :31:25.get there. As soon as he wrapped his foot around it and put it up,
:31:25. > :31:29.luckily for me, the defender was three or four yards ahead of me, and
:31:30. > :31:34.I could get at him and get up. I can get up quite high for a little man
:31:34. > :31:38.and got up there and put it in. That moment that ball hits that net,
:31:38. > :31:41.what are you feeling? Delight. All young boys want to score at an
:31:41. > :31:45.international level for their country. When you do, it's
:31:45. > :31:49.brilliant, you know, and it gives me the hunger to score more. Fabio,
:31:49. > :31:54.Northern Ireland tonight - did they surprise you? They didn't surprise
:31:54. > :32:01.me because they never played like this evening - so fast, good passes,
:32:01. > :32:08.fast - the way they go forward, but they played a really good game. They
:32:08. > :32:12.scored. We made mistakes, but the result is what we can see during the
:32:12. > :32:16.game. I thought today was a big night for me. It has been long time
:32:16. > :32:19.coming. I have had the arm band now for over a year. It's nice to get
:32:19. > :32:24.that monkey off my back and delighted for Michael as well. He's
:32:24. > :32:27.put in a lot of work, and we'd not really got the rewards we deserved,
:32:28. > :32:30.but delighted for everybody tonight and seeing the fans so happy.
:32:30. > :32:33.feeling a lot better. It's nice the get a win and particularly against
:32:34. > :32:38.this class of opposition, but you can't get carried away with it. We
:32:38. > :32:42.have another top-class team coming here this another couple of weeks.
:32:42. > :32:52.Now we can look forward to that. Northern Ireland move up to fourth
:32:52. > :32:55.
:32:55. > :33:00.that game in hand. Joining me is former international Keith
:33:01. > :33:06.Gillespie. You were involved in many big nights at Windsor Park yourself.
:33:06. > :33:09.Where does this one rank? It's right up there with - you look at the
:33:09. > :33:12.England games, beating Sweden, Denmark, it's up there. I think
:33:12. > :33:17.Northern Ireland seemed to produce when the chips were down. Nobody
:33:17. > :33:21.expected it tonight. It was a comfortable 1-0. They sort of
:33:21. > :33:28.strolled through the second half, you know? It seems crazy to say that
:33:28. > :33:33.with a 1-0 margin, but it's credit to the way the Northern Ireland team
:33:33. > :33:36.worked. Against a team 93 places above them in the world rankings -
:33:36. > :33:40.let's not forget that. Exactly. It didn't show that way tonight.
:33:40. > :33:43.Northern Ireland, you know, from goal keeper to frontman were
:33:43. > :33:47.exceptional tonight. That's the difference when you've got 11
:33:47. > :33:50.players on the top of their game, you know, working hard. They sort of
:33:51. > :33:56.knew it was going to be difficult against a strong nation like rush
:33:56. > :34:02.yartion, but as I say -- Russia, but as I say, it was a comfortable
:34:02. > :34:06.victory. Michael O'Neill is a man you know well. He's taken criticism
:34:06. > :34:10.early in his ten you're. How pleased are you for him? Absolutely
:34:10. > :34:14.delighted. He's had a tough start to international management, taken ten
:34:14. > :34:18.games now, but what a way to do it. It's great to see the crowd, you
:34:18. > :34:23.know, singing in full voice again tonight because they haven't had
:34:23. > :34:26.much to shout and sing about lately, but full credit to Michael and the
:34:26. > :34:30.players. They really showed what it meant tonight, and they were first
:34:30. > :34:34.at every ball and fought the whole game. It's a fantastic result
:34:34. > :34:37.against, you know what, normally is a good Russia side, but tonight,
:34:37. > :34:40.they played poorly, but in saying that Northern Ireland, you know,
:34:41. > :34:46.were just, you know, absolutely fantastic. And a fantastic
:34:46. > :34:50.atmosphere. It felt a little bit like the days of old when we used to
:34:50. > :34:52.see David Healy in that number nine shirt knocking them in for fun.
:34:52. > :34:56.Tonight it was Martin Paterson in the number nine shirt. He had a
:34:56. > :35:00.tremendous game. He was exceptional, very difficult playing up there in
:35:00. > :35:05.front on your own. He's not the tallest, but he made himself big at
:35:05. > :35:09.times and won free kicks, and the goal - it was a great ball in from
:35:09. > :35:12.Niall McGinn, and he managed to get in front of his marker and placed
:35:12. > :35:17.the header in the far corner. It's a great time to score before halftime,
:35:17. > :35:21.give the lads a boost and something to hold on to. It was easy in the
:35:21. > :35:24.end. It was one, but it could have been more, couldn't it? It could.
:35:24. > :35:27.Obviously, Jamie Ward hit the post in the first half with a great
:35:27. > :35:31.strike, and normally, you know, somebody's going to put that in -
:35:31. > :35:35.the rebound - unfortunately, Martin couldn't do that he was in the right
:35:35. > :35:39.place a couple of minutes later. He was in the right place in the second
:35:39. > :35:42.half and just marginally offside, but if anyone was going to score in
:35:42. > :35:46.the second half, it was Northern Ireland, you know, Russia didn't
:35:46. > :35:49.look like scoring at all, and I'm sure Fabio Capello is not too happy
:35:49. > :35:54.in the Russian dressing room. Defensively tonight, Northern
:35:54. > :35:58.Ireland were up against it with Johnny Evans out as a late
:35:58. > :36:01.withdrawal but they were superb defensively. That's the keystone of
:36:01. > :36:06.the success this evening. Yeah, it means a lot when you don't miss
:36:06. > :36:11.Evans tonight, and Cathcart came in, absolutely exceptional. Gareth
:36:11. > :36:14.McAuley, some great blocks in the first half especially. Aaron is
:36:14. > :36:19.Aaron, never has a bad game, particularly impressed with Daniel
:36:19. > :36:22.Lafferty. He gets forward a lot and defended really well, and he won
:36:22. > :36:26.some good free kicks towards the end, you know, in defensive areas
:36:26. > :36:29.which took the pressure off Northern Ireland, so it was a great
:36:29. > :36:34.performance all-around, but particularly the defence can be very
:36:34. > :36:38.pleased with the way they played tonight. Lafferty booked. He'll miss
:36:38. > :36:42.the game against Portugal. Next up, Northern Ireland and Portugal will
:36:42. > :36:45.not fancy their trip to Belfast, I imagine. They won't. They're
:36:45. > :36:49.probably rubbing their hands tonight thinking Northern Ireland has done
:36:49. > :36:52.them a favour, but nobody has it easy coming here to Windsor Park. We
:36:52. > :36:56.have shown that in the past. It's just a shame we can't sort of do
:36:56. > :37:01.that against the so-called lesser nations, but we - the players have
:37:01. > :37:05.put in a great performance tonight, and it gives us great heart getting
:37:05. > :37:15.back into - Portugal next month. Thank you very much indeed. Time to
:37:15. > :37:26.