Northern Ireland v Slovenia

:00:17. > :00:41.the countdown to the year rose continues. Last week in Northern

:00:42. > :00:46.Ireland produced an impressive draw with fellow finalists Wales. The

:00:47. > :00:57.second international goal. They were minutes from victory. Tonight

:00:58. > :01:00.Michael O'Neill's team will try to extend its unbeaten run to ten

:01:01. > :01:05.matches to beat a record set 30 years ago. That is the last time

:01:06. > :01:10.Northern Ireland qualified for a major tournament. The preparations

:01:11. > :01:11.continue for the summer's finals with an international friendly

:01:12. > :01:20.against Slovenia. The green and white army, young and

:01:21. > :01:26.old are out in force for the first home game of 2016, the new home for

:01:27. > :01:30.Northern Ireland fans, the National football is they deem is really

:01:31. > :01:35.starting to take shape and it is an absolute sell-out. Good evening and

:01:36. > :01:40.welcome to Windsor park, joining us tonight in the studio here are two

:01:41. > :01:47.of Northern Ireland's best ever players. The flag stays down. What a

:01:48. > :01:55.moment for Northern Ireland. What a moment for Windsor park. Fleming

:01:56. > :02:05.takes it. Dowie come short. Marvellous goal by Keith Gillespie.

:02:06. > :02:09.Four minutes gone, second cap tonight for Keith Alexy, the 19 year

:02:10. > :02:16.from Manchester United and what a start for Northern Ireland. 180 caps

:02:17. > :02:23.and 30 goals between them. David Healy and Keith Alexy, to be fair 36

:02:24. > :02:31.were yours. I think he has about 20 assists and I have one so I had to

:02:32. > :02:35.repay him somehow. Are you confident that Northern Ireland can keep this

:02:36. > :02:40.really good run going and break the record of unbeaten games? I think

:02:41. > :02:44.so, the way they have played through the whole campaign, it is very

:02:45. > :02:49.pleasing and very difficult to beat now. As good shape about us and

:02:50. > :02:55.Michael has is well organised and the run of nine games it all. The

:02:56. > :02:57.Northern Ireland team to Matt, for changes to the side, incomes Roy

:02:58. > :03:02.Carroll in goal, Shane Ferguson comes in, Michael Smith makes his

:03:03. > :03:06.international debut and Kyle Lafferty is replaced by Jamie Ward.

:03:07. > :03:09.Michael Smith from Peterborough, what we know about him and how

:03:10. > :03:15.difficult is it to make your international debut just before the

:03:16. > :03:20.Euros? I know people are Peter Briggs speak highly for him. I have

:03:21. > :03:23.been speaking to Michael on and off trying to get this lad in. --

:03:24. > :03:28.Peterborough. There is no better place than making your baby at the

:03:29. > :03:32.new Windsor park so he has played 100 times or so for Ballymena. It

:03:33. > :03:38.does have experience playing week in week out in England so detest for

:03:39. > :03:42.him and hopefully he does well. Michael O'Neill giving every player

:03:43. > :03:48.the ultimate opportunity to make it to in France? We still have a fair

:03:49. > :03:52.bit to go before the final start so unfortunately with Chris Brunt being

:03:53. > :03:55.injured there is a possibility that other players could get injured and

:03:56. > :03:59.hopefully that does not happen but he does have to have back-up plans.

:04:00. > :04:05.He needs to see plays in positions that they may not be familiar to sew

:04:06. > :04:09.a good case for him to try and see what he has out there. The new

:04:10. > :04:14.National. You hear is nearly complete, it is scheduled to be

:04:15. > :04:18.officially finished in September, tonight the dressing rooms will be

:04:19. > :04:19.used for the first times and the new surroundings are certainly

:04:20. > :04:33.impressing everyone including the Northern Ireland manager.

:04:34. > :04:46.ROCK MUSIC this is a stadium fit for international football. To be going

:04:47. > :04:54.into the finals in the stadium as it is fully completed nearly, it is

:04:55. > :04:58.great there is a real enthusiasm about it, the team is going well and

:04:59. > :05:05.you see the imagery, the likes of George Best and the players of 86

:05:06. > :05:12.and 82 and I think that is a good thing. These players want to leave

:05:13. > :05:14.their own legacy, a lot have played international football and they will

:05:15. > :05:18.be the first team to go to a European Championships and they are

:05:19. > :05:21.the first Northern Ireland team that have won a qualifying group as well

:05:22. > :05:25.as they are nice things to have an terms of your achievements as an

:05:26. > :05:30.international player. Between now and the summer the race will be good

:05:31. > :05:40.and make and hopefully add to that in France. I know you are here week

:05:41. > :05:46.in week out the how impressed are you buy the new Windsor park?

:05:47. > :05:51.Fantastic, it has taken such a long time for us to build but finally

:05:52. > :06:01.we're nearly there and it a stadium I think the whole country can be

:06:02. > :06:06.proud of. It is still and work but it is a stadium we can all be proud

:06:07. > :06:10.of -- and workforce that is to know that so many of the heroes of

:06:11. > :06:16.Northern Irish football are remembered -- nice to know. You look

:06:17. > :06:22.at the players there, Pat Jennings, George Best, all those names roll

:06:23. > :06:26.off your tongue. As David says, it is great, we have needed this for a

:06:27. > :06:31.long time and a stadium we need to be proud of, the previous Windsor

:06:32. > :06:37.park was a little bit poor in terms of standard but we have a really

:06:38. > :06:47.cracking stadium now. I think there is a page of U2 boys in there now.

:06:48. > :06:50.Gareth McAuley the West Bromwich Albion is confident ahead of the

:06:51. > :06:52.match, momentum he says is key as the team gets ready for a very

:06:53. > :07:19.exciting journey the summer. than to anything. Playing Ukraine

:07:20. > :07:23.and Poland first is good because you can do your teeth into that and then

:07:24. > :07:28.you have to get something against Germany and then we looked them.

:07:29. > :07:41.-- we look then. You cannot even get enough tickets to take the family, I

:07:42. > :07:46.understand the frustrations everyone has had the tickets but that shows

:07:47. > :07:49.what we have done as a group, everyone is scrambling trying to get

:07:50. > :07:56.tickets and get themselves out there to see us. What hit home which is

:07:57. > :08:02.different for us is what happened to Chris Brunt. That is a crying shame,

:08:03. > :08:06.something that happens in football and is difficult because I know how

:08:07. > :08:16.much he wanted to come here and how much she was looking forward to it

:08:17. > :08:18.as well. It's difficult being, going away, leaving the club and being

:08:19. > :08:33.happy when you know he is hurting. Obviously we have never experienced

:08:34. > :08:40.it before, none of us have. We are going into the dark and we don't

:08:41. > :08:49.know what to expect from it. We can try to soak it we are focused, we

:08:50. > :09:01.adjust tourist if you like. We can hopefully do something. Steven Davis

:09:02. > :09:04.is ready to lead the Northern Ireland team out this evening, let's

:09:05. > :09:08.see if they can keep their unbeaten run on the go and see if they can

:09:09. > :09:16.break the record. Let's join the commentary team.

:09:17. > :09:21.COMMENTATOR: Thank you Stephen, the work in progress that is the new

:09:22. > :09:24.stadium here continues and Steven Davis ready to leave the players out

:09:25. > :09:31.of the new tunnel from the new dressing room past the pictures of

:09:32. > :09:35.those heroes from the past for the very first time and on the pitch and

:09:36. > :09:41.opportunity to apply some final touches. Just two games to play and

:09:42. > :09:46.both here and to Michael O'Neill names the squad of 23 players that

:09:47. > :09:52.will represent Northern Ireland at the European Championship finals,

:09:53. > :10:01.for the very first time, 11 weeks yesterday until the opening games

:10:02. > :10:05.and Poland of course will be the opponents with time running out for

:10:06. > :10:13.those who need to convince the manager that they should be there.

:10:14. > :10:16.Tommy Wright sitting alongside me, he made the flight and a big night

:10:17. > :10:22.to night, a very different wins apart from when you were here

:10:23. > :10:27.before? It will be magnificent when the uncompleted and finishes, you

:10:28. > :10:32.see the dressing rooms and the infrastructure, it is a top class

:10:33. > :10:43.stadium. Let's just pause for the anthems festivals Lavinia. SLOVENIAN

:10:44. > :10:44.National and now the National Anthem of

:10:45. > :12:28.Northern Ireland. Apologies, slide design flaw with

:12:29. > :12:31.the new studio here, when the back row of the press stand out from the

:12:32. > :12:40.radio commentary position, they do block our view. We will have to tell

:12:41. > :12:50.them to sit down on a more regular basis.

:12:51. > :12:57.A few changes from the team in Cardiff, Roy Carroll takes over

:12:58. > :13:05.between the posts. Michael Smith makes his debut, Shane Ferguson

:13:06. > :13:11.replaces Stuart Dallas on the other side having failed to start any

:13:12. > :13:17.other games and there's a change Jimmy Ward replacing Kyle Lafferty.

:13:18. > :13:27.4-3- three. Been if. Some changes to the side that beat Macedonia. Hole

:13:28. > :13:33.is in the team and the other change sees Bursa winning his 80th cap. Of

:13:34. > :13:43.course the last time Northern Ireland played here the terror

:13:44. > :13:46.attacks were in Paris and over the course of these hundred people have

:13:47. > :13:51.died in Lahore and Brussels and before kick-off the two central

:13:52. > :13:57.players will gather around the centre circle and we will observe a

:13:58. > :14:02.minute 's silence. Not just in the memory of those who lost their lives

:14:03. > :14:09.in those attacks but also to remember those involved in the

:14:10. > :14:12.terrible tragedy in three Mac last Sunday evening. The pledge is

:14:13. > :14:18.gathering around the centre circle now stop -- the players. The referee

:14:19. > :14:57.will blow his whistle and we will observe a minute silence.

:14:58. > :15:05.Well a chance for this generation of internationals to write another

:15:06. > :15:13.chapter in the history books, to avoid defeat tonight and it will set

:15:14. > :15:17.a new record of ten games unbeaten. It has been nine-game since they

:15:18. > :15:21.have been beaten and they want to go one better, if they can go right up

:15:22. > :15:26.to the finals it'll be a tremendous run of form and will give them room

:15:27. > :15:30.amends. It would but the records are important because a performance is

:15:31. > :15:33.what they will be looking for between now and France and it gives

:15:34. > :15:44.them another opportunity tonight as well. We are ready to go. Steven

:15:45. > :15:47.Davis the captain gets us underway. 13 and a half thousand packed in

:15:48. > :15:57.here tonight, a sell-out crowd as you would expect.

:15:58. > :16:09.Michael Smith the man making his debut, firmer Ballymena United

:16:10. > :16:12.player. -- former. Playing now for Peterborough United and David Healy

:16:13. > :16:17.saying he is really impressed Grant McCann on the coaching staff. He

:16:18. > :16:25.expects him to make a big impression. Back by Ward. Nor would

:16:26. > :16:36.fruitfully to Washington. A chance now for

:16:37. > :16:52.A little bit scrappy over in the far side in the early stages. It'd be

:16:53. > :16:57.interesting to see was Slovenia make of this once night. They missed out

:16:58. > :17:03.on the play-offs, not going to the finals, are they looking to rebuild

:17:04. > :17:11.when they are six months away from our? They are in a tough group with

:17:12. > :17:16.England and Switzerland. It would be a tough test for Northern Ireland

:17:17. > :17:20.tonight. Probably the 3-5- two has a more balanced for Ferguson. Maybe a

:17:21. > :17:40.bit more natural for him to play the role. Stuart Dallas. Try the pick-up

:17:41. > :17:45.Washington. He played on Wednesday in the win against Macedonia. An

:17:46. > :18:00.early cross well defended by McAuley. Danger still not clear. And

:18:01. > :18:04.Skubic put across in. A great ball in an Gareth McAuley does brilliant

:18:05. > :18:10.to clean it up. A bit untidy at the end with good defending from Gareth

:18:11. > :18:21.there. That diagonal ball and Shane Ferguson got caught under its a bit

:18:22. > :18:27.but Skubic made a great run. Second spell in charge for the manager he

:18:28. > :18:38.will be pleased. A chance maybe now for Ward. Manages to dig a cross but

:18:39. > :18:43.black the goalkeeper catch that the Lima -- catches those or not long. A

:18:44. > :18:50.good ball from Shane getting in behind. Ward starting in place of

:18:51. > :18:53.Kyle Lafferty this evening. Interesting Michael O'Neill

:18:54. > :18:56.suggesting that it wasn't worth taking the risk with Lafferty

:18:57. > :19:00.tonight given he had not playing a lot of football coming into the

:19:01. > :19:04.friendlies, doesn't want to send him to Birmingham City online with an

:19:05. > :19:09.injury and maybe he will miss 2-3 weeks, it would defeat the whole

:19:10. > :19:13.purpose of him missing matches. It is good management from Michael,

:19:14. > :19:16.they have not played a lot of football, two games in four days,

:19:17. > :19:20.there is the risk of injury and the one thing we don't want is to go to

:19:21. > :19:25.Birmingham and not play because we do need to go to Birmingham and be

:19:26. > :19:35.ready for the finals. Not convincing by black. Washington has it knocked

:19:36. > :19:43.away from homes. -- Oblak. Knock-down by Cathcart. Here is

:19:44. > :19:48.Ilicic, taken by Norwood. The ever busy Davis. Tidying up. McNair,

:19:49. > :20:08.gives it to Smith. Norwood's past is behind Ferguson.

:20:09. > :20:12.What are the real differences with the problem is that some players

:20:13. > :20:25.will find if they don't play 3-5- two regularly. Trying dot-mac is it

:20:26. > :20:31.difficult for the central defenders? Cathcart and Evans have all played

:20:32. > :20:34.full-back so I think you're wingbacks are such as you want them

:20:35. > :20:39.as high up the pitch as possible and you don't want to be having five at

:20:40. > :20:43.the back and the way it manages are looking it will allow three in

:20:44. > :20:46.midfield and two up top. Although saying that international football,

:20:47. > :20:52.some teams are happy with two versus two at the back. The set piece for

:20:53. > :20:59.Northern Ireland. Obviously Gareth McAuley has come forward. All of the

:21:00. > :21:03.outfield players, everyone apart from Roy Carroll is in the Slovenian

:21:04. > :21:16.half. Up to McAuley who does get his head to the ball. Idris out of play

:21:17. > :21:20.for a goal kick? You're looking for a not across goal from Gareth and he

:21:21. > :21:22.got it again, something Northern Ireland are good at in the campaign,

:21:23. > :21:44.their set place. Jokic, flies up for offside. The

:21:45. > :21:50.referee spots that. Bezjak unable to time the run. Bezjak who scored his

:21:51. > :21:53.only international goal on Wednesday night against Macedonia. There is

:21:54. > :22:20.the manager Michael O'Neill. Keith was definitely born. Keith

:22:21. > :22:39.just looks old. All that experience of life.

:22:40. > :22:53.The ever present of McAuley in the qualifying campaign, now Norwood.

:22:54. > :22:57.Ferguson. Shane Ferguson has not started any of the previous 11

:22:58. > :23:06.internationals before tonight. The last game he started was the 2-0 win

:23:07. > :23:10.in Greece. Evans in a wide position, more likely to see him in one of the

:23:11. > :23:16.areas, that is what you are talking about with the defensive three? When

:23:17. > :23:19.we have the three the ball is split and it want to keep the ball in the

:23:20. > :23:27.game and it is important at international level, looks at the

:23:28. > :23:32.referee to say you're not giving me a free kick for that nudge? He has

:23:33. > :23:38.made an impressive start, he works hard and you know you are in a game

:23:39. > :23:39.with Washington because he does not allow centre-backs the time with the

:23:40. > :24:01.ball. They have used set pieces well. Five

:24:02. > :24:18.of seven goals have been headers as well from set pieces. That one is a

:24:19. > :24:21.bit of ways. -- waste. You almost expect Northern Ireland to score off

:24:22. > :24:26.every corner they get because they have been so good. Even the goal in

:24:27. > :24:31.Wales came from a well worked corner, the initial ball was cleared

:24:32. > :24:35.but it is the variation of the set pieces which is Ben so impressive

:24:36. > :24:50.over the course of the last couple of years -- been.

:24:51. > :25:01.You are probably all the same you managers. Smith, has a little look

:25:02. > :25:04.at what is available. The cross was easily blocked, maybe should have

:25:05. > :25:10.thought about giving back to McNair instead. A chance for the visitors

:25:11. > :25:24.to break, Ilicic with a short pass, helped on its way by Krhin. Jokic,

:25:25. > :25:26.the cross was blocked. It looked as though there might be half the town

:25:27. > :25:45.'s. A very loose pass to Ferguson.

:25:46. > :25:48.Davis. Has a bit of space. Smith seeing a lot of the ball in the

:25:49. > :25:57.early stages, he will be pleased about that I'm sure, making his

:25:58. > :26:05.debut. He will enjoy that role because I him at Ballyclare and I

:26:06. > :26:13.was saying -- Palomino. -- Palomino. He loves getting forward. You know

:26:14. > :26:22.he has the licence to do that. It didn't take you long to slip in

:26:23. > :26:40.Ballyclare there. Not bad for a small count. Davis beaten to the

:26:41. > :26:47.ball the left-back forward again. Marshall once more. Krhin gives it

:26:48. > :26:55.wired and stress to start another move off. Verbic has beaten the

:26:56. > :27:00.skipper, tries to play a nice little 1-2 at the edge of the penalty area.

:27:01. > :27:05.Try to knock it to where he thought Bezjak would be. An important touch

:27:06. > :27:15.from Ferguson. Slovenia still have it. This could be half a chance,

:27:16. > :27:23.does it is save it in the end, fired into the side netting. Play the

:27:24. > :27:28.initial one in the wide area world and he makes a great run off the

:27:29. > :27:39.back Paddy should probably track that, it will take some thing

:27:40. > :27:48.special to beat him from there. Roy Carroll winning his 34th cap tonight

:27:49. > :27:50.and as Tommy was saying being beaten from that sort of angle, a bad

:27:51. > :28:07.decision from the striker. Samardzic decided to put the brakes

:28:08. > :28:29.on. Samardzic tries to go for the long

:28:30. > :28:36.one, two longbow and Carroll quite happily deals with that. Roy Carroll

:28:37. > :28:43.has been around a long time, nearly 19 years since his debut, this would

:28:44. > :28:44.be a great way for him to finish his international career heading off

:28:45. > :29:00.into France. Right on the 14th minute, a round of

:29:01. > :29:04.applause to celebrate the life of Johann Christ, one of the

:29:05. > :29:14.footballing greats who sadly passed away sadly last week and I'm sure an

:29:15. > :29:18.emotional moment as well for the Slovenian manager who was a member

:29:19. > :29:26.of the great side which played in the 92 cup final and they were

:29:27. > :29:37.beaten that night. What a player Johann was. An outstanding player

:29:38. > :29:44.and in the 74 World Cup and the 78 World Cup, a great manager and I saw

:29:45. > :29:53.an interview with him where he had he had privately manage them on.

:29:54. > :30:03.Everybody on their feet around the ground acknowledging the life of the

:30:04. > :30:09.great Johann Christ. Jonny Evans. As a free kick to take. Pretty flat

:30:10. > :30:14.start so far. To be first with Renee have probably had better of the last

:30:15. > :30:28.3-4 minutes, they have controlled the ball and in the centre of

:30:29. > :30:33.midfield, good movement as well. Skubic providing one of the earlier

:30:34. > :30:34.moments with a great cross. A player who it seems enjoys venturing

:30:35. > :30:52.forward. It will be a throw in. Cathcart could have an FA Cup final

:30:53. > :31:02.to look forward to, just one game away from an FA Cup final with

:31:03. > :31:07.Watford. McCauley is still Mr reliable for West Brom. Jonny Evans

:31:08. > :31:09.has joined them the. That is why we are seeing a lot of experimenting

:31:10. > :31:25.with the three at the back. That was laid won by Norwood. He

:31:26. > :31:33.apologises. I don't think the referee is going to produce a it is

:31:34. > :31:42.a friendly, after all. It was an accident. They can be sore, but he

:31:43. > :31:55.is fine. Good refereeing, just had a quiet word with Norwood. Caesar is

:31:56. > :32:19.the most capped player in Slovenian history -- Cesar.

:32:20. > :32:25.Smith is the 40th player that has been used by Michael O'Neill since

:32:26. > :32:38.he took charge. Does that seem like a lot to you? What was it, four

:32:39. > :32:43.years ago? I don't know. To be fair, a lot of the young players have come

:32:44. > :32:54.through. He has found one or two players as well.

:32:55. > :33:02.Making his debut at 27, of course. I think he's the oldest debutant for

:33:03. > :33:07.Northern Ireland since Mark Williams, who made his debut at the

:33:08. > :33:19.age of 28. Taylor made his debut at 27. The flag has gone up, and the

:33:20. > :33:30.shot was off target anyway. It is another little warning. A couple of

:33:31. > :33:40.times, they have almost managed to get themselves in.

:33:41. > :33:55.The last five or six minutes, they have looked more comfortable.

:33:56. > :34:07.McAuley not taking any chances. Looked as if Ilicic was outnumbered,

:34:08. > :34:27.but the referee has given the free kick. It does have that practice

:34:28. > :34:36.match sort of feel to it. It is five years tomorrow since the sides last

:34:37. > :34:43.met, in a 0-0 draw. Slovenia have not scored in the last three

:34:44. > :34:52.meetings between the sides. There was a 1-0 in Maribor, when Corry

:34:53. > :35:02.Evans scored. Not a lot of goals whenever these sites meet. That has

:35:03. > :35:19.been the pattern in recent years. That was a very poor cross. Roy

:35:20. > :35:30.Carroll let out a loud roar. To be fair, the likes of Bojan Jokic do

:35:31. > :35:56.like to get forward. You were saying it is different for goalkeepers.

:35:57. > :36:00.Needs a bit more service, Washington. He has been chasing lost

:36:01. > :36:34.causes so far. It is important to try. You don't

:36:35. > :36:40.want to go into the tournament football becoming one-dimensional. I

:36:41. > :36:49.think with the three other back, one of your centre-backs have to step

:36:50. > :36:56.out. We have gone a bit long, which has made it difficult for

:36:57. > :37:16.Washington. Davis was trying to force his way through. And the

:37:17. > :37:31.referee has given the free kick. McNair standing, hands on hips.

:37:32. > :37:40.It is McNair who is going to take it. A glancing header. And it goes

:37:41. > :38:14.behind for the corner. Norwood again. Better delivery.

:38:15. > :38:22.Gareth McAuley was pushing at the back post. That is a free kick. A

:38:23. > :38:35.bit too much on that one, Tommy? Yeah. There is a bit of a singsong.

:38:36. > :38:38.If the game is not great, you can always make your own entertainment,

:38:39. > :38:45.especially if you have a finals night to look forward to. And they

:38:46. > :38:48.are in good voice. It is a bit of a choir practice, this game and the

:38:49. > :38:51.game against Belarus at the end of May. McAuley needs to be careful

:38:52. > :39:24.here, and is. If you are Slovenia, you will be

:39:25. > :39:29.happy, because a lot of the Northern Ireland players have been in front

:39:30. > :39:44.of them, and we have lacked that penetration. Cathcart defends well.

:39:45. > :39:45.A foul on the far side. How the assistant doesn't see that is a bit

:39:46. > :40:34.of a mystery. Kurtic was being put under pressure.

:40:35. > :40:48.Slovenia have done well to keep possession. Davis knew he was going

:40:49. > :41:05.to be put under pressure by Verbic, so had to retreat.

:41:06. > :41:18.That was a great ball, but the flag is up for offside.

:41:19. > :41:26.I could see exactly what Verbic was trying to do. The little backheel by

:41:27. > :41:46.Davis didn't quite come off. Probably the better option was

:41:47. > :42:00.Michael Smith again. Birsa, to be fair to him, has got good movement.

:42:01. > :42:24.Cathcart with the throwing. -- throw-in.

:42:25. > :42:36.This could be half a chance for the visitors. That was a comfortable

:42:37. > :42:53.save. Good counterattack play. The visitors certainly have had the

:42:54. > :43:06.better of it. They have just looked more threatening, Joe.

:43:07. > :43:11.The best chance was probably the one that was fired into the side

:43:12. > :43:18.netting. He will be the happier of the two managers, up for his second

:43:19. > :43:28.spell in charge. He had a very good first charge, led them to the World

:43:29. > :43:32.Cup in 2002. He has been asked back to repeat the magic for Slovenia.

:43:33. > :43:35.They have a tough World Cup qualifying group. It will be a big

:43:36. > :44:14.ask in that group. Here is Washington. Great chance for

:44:15. > :44:20.him, trying to put it through the goalkeeper's legs. But they stopped

:44:21. > :44:31.the shot. But great play from Washington. And good play from Jonny

:44:32. > :44:37.Evans. The keeper does well, to be fair, keeps his legs close together.

:44:38. > :44:46.It was a good save, but excellent play from Northern Ireland. It was

:44:47. > :45:00.promising from Washington, the ability to go past the defender.

:45:01. > :45:15.You have to give black credit. -- Oblak. The only way to go was

:45:16. > :45:19.through the goalkeeper's legs, and Oblak probably knew that and was

:45:20. > :46:07.able to make the save. He plays for Atletico Madrid.

:46:08. > :46:29.Yes, good build-up play for Northern Ireland.

:46:30. > :46:58.Michael O'Neill will be off to watch Germany against Italy tomorrow

:46:59. > :47:03.night. He will be heading off, having watched his team extend their

:47:04. > :47:07.unbeaten run to ten matches, into double figures for the first ever

:47:08. > :47:11.time. The referee made a little slip there, but did well to avoid being

:47:12. > :47:27.in contact with the ball. Slippery surface.

:47:28. > :47:37.Ferguson is seeing more of the ball now. Yes, they have moved up the

:47:38. > :48:16.pitch more to put them under more pressure.

:48:17. > :48:23.Washington will keep the vendor 's honest. The player that chases all

:48:24. > :48:30.the scraps. -- he will keep defenders honest.

:48:31. > :49:00.That is the first time I have seen him live. I have seen him on TV.

:49:01. > :49:29.First corner for the visitors. That should be another corner.

:49:30. > :49:33.That will be a free kick inside Carroll's six yard box. Roy Carroll

:49:34. > :49:45.can have a bit of a laugh. When you started your career, that

:49:46. > :49:58.would have been fine, Tommy! No, I think you would have to go

:49:59. > :50:05.back a couple of decades before I started when that was allowed. 27

:50:06. > :50:10.years ago next month, that debut of yours and that first international

:50:11. > :50:14.goal for Michael O'Neill in Malta. Whether the years go, eh? Former

:50:15. > :50:21.cross-country runner turned international goalkeeper turned St

:50:22. > :50:29.Johnstone manager, leading them to glory. Top 16 finish. Hopefully.

:50:30. > :50:31.Digging on the door. And no Gray hairs yet, so that is a big plus for

:50:32. > :51:02.me. Evans' brother, you would expect. We

:51:03. > :51:21.were saying before the game, Corry Evans may come into that.

:51:22. > :52:15.That looked like a foul throw, but the referee lets it go.

:52:16. > :52:25.Evans was penalised there. Washington has started two games and

:52:26. > :52:33.had two macro different strike partners. It is difficult. It takes

:52:34. > :52:45.time. They are two very different strike partners, Ward and Kyle

:52:46. > :52:49.Lafferty. Yeah, but he has done well so far. Ferguson has looks bright in

:52:50. > :53:06.the last 15 minutes. Jokic is the left-back who plays at

:53:07. > :53:28.Nottingham Forest. The free kick has gone against him,

:53:29. > :53:42.but he has hurt himself more than he has Benjamin Verbic chief.

:53:43. > :53:52.Only four of Jimmy Ward's previous internationals has he played the 90

:53:53. > :53:56.minutes. It is usually 70 minutes, or on some occasions of the bench.

:53:57. > :54:09.During the qualifying campaign, we saw the best of him on so many

:54:10. > :54:15.occasions. Davis was trying to play it in for Washington. I think it was

:54:16. > :54:31.onside. Yes, good defending. A good run from Washington. Almost another

:54:32. > :54:42.chance for Washington. An understanding has developed between

:54:43. > :54:45.the centre forward and the others. From what I have seen so far, I

:54:46. > :54:57.think he will bring something to the squad. He has been in the was, Ward.

:54:58. > :55:08.This time, he was fouled. He wins the free kick instead of conceding

:55:09. > :55:13.it. We are edging towards half-time. Washington only played the first 45

:55:14. > :55:22.minutes in Wales. Will he come out for the second 45 of this one? We

:55:23. > :55:43.shall see. Ferguson felt he was fouled.

:55:44. > :55:59.A goal before the half-time break would be lovely. Ferguson looks like

:56:00. > :56:08.a man on a mission tonight, working to take his opportunity. His name is

:56:09. > :56:11.only in pencil on the back of the envelope. He's trying to make sure

:56:12. > :56:19.that Michael O'Neill takes the pan out and writes it in ink. -- takes

:56:20. > :56:26.the pen out. There are 18 definites and probably another five seven or

:56:27. > :56:32.eight, would you say? Here is Washington. The referee says no

:56:33. > :56:37.foul. He is barging his way through, and scoring his first international

:56:38. > :56:44.goal! Tremendous strength from the new boy, Konta Washington. And he

:56:45. > :56:49.marked his first ever visit to Northern Ireland with his first goal

:56:50. > :56:53.for the international team. He is the fans' favourite, and with that

:56:54. > :56:58.goal, he could just be cementing his place in the squad and heading to

:56:59. > :57:11.France for the finals. He has been impressive. He uses his strength.

:57:12. > :57:19.And a bit of composure. The keeper thinks he is going across him. It is

:57:20. > :57:25.a super finish. Just from a hopeful ball up the pitch, he has made

:57:26. > :57:30.something of it. As you say, that goal will probably get him on the

:57:31. > :57:35.plane to France. As I said at the time, he was bulldozing his way

:57:36. > :57:42.towards the building site. His upper body strength, the defender bounced

:57:43. > :57:49.off him. But he had the composure, as you say, to make the goalkeeper

:57:50. > :57:53.look rather foolish in the end. Conor Washington, on only his second

:57:54. > :57:56.appearance for Northern Ireland and his first visit to the country,

:57:57. > :58:06.scores his first ever international goal. Not often that you see a

:58:07. > :58:15.yellow card at a friendly. Well, they took the free kick. And then

:58:16. > :58:33.they lost the ball. It is a soft one. That looks like a foul. He goes

:58:34. > :58:38.to stop it. It is a combination of two things. He was probably right to

:58:39. > :58:51.give the yellow card. Tommy Wright supports referee shock! Well, the

:58:52. > :58:56.fans have a new favourite, Tommy. As I said, he has been impressive in

:58:57. > :59:05.the first half. He has worked hard. He has tried to make runs behind. He

:59:06. > :59:13.has had the previous chance as well. So he has had an excellent 45

:59:14. > :59:16.minutes, almost, and capped it off with a really good goal. The referee

:59:17. > :59:25.is going to have another word with Jimmy Ward and Cesar. Jimmy Ward

:59:26. > :59:36.said, it is him! Nothing to do with him. He needs to be careful, though.

:59:37. > :59:55.He doesn't want to be sent off on a friendly at 1-0 up. He has done

:59:56. > :59:59.well, Ward. Well, we said a goal would give everybody a lift just

:00:00. > :00:06.before half-time. Washington was able to deliver that goal and that

:00:07. > :00:08.lift. Slovenia, though, will be trying to find an equaliser in the

:00:09. > :00:23.closing stages. Posted towards the corner, good

:00:24. > :00:29.defending, Cathcart. Reliable as ever.

:00:30. > :00:42.He does get the chance to put the crossing but that is very easy for

:00:43. > :00:49.Roy Carroll and the referee has had enough. At the end of the first

:00:50. > :01:00.half, largely uneventful and then all of a sudden Northern Ireland

:01:01. > :01:03.decided to get Washington into the game, he gave the visitors or

:01:04. > :01:07.warning, the goalkeeper saved his first effort but the second one, a

:01:08. > :01:11.battering ram through the heart of the defence, the second offender

:01:12. > :01:16.bounced off them, gets a hug from Josh Magennis, scores his first

:01:17. > :01:24.international goal. Makes it look very simple. McNair and Cathcart

:01:25. > :01:28.have been reliable, Davis two. A happy Northern Ireland dressing room

:01:29. > :01:37.at half-time, the score here Northern Ireland 1-0 Slovenia.

:01:38. > :01:43.STUDIO: David Healy and Keith Gillespie have been watching that,

:01:44. > :01:49.your assessments? Quiet right up until we got the goal, there was not

:01:50. > :01:54.really much in the game but nice going 1-0 up, the new player coming

:01:55. > :01:58.in which for a manager is a big thing, when you bring someone in,

:01:59. > :02:06.especially at this late stage. It is a big plus for him. A dream call-up

:02:07. > :02:09.for a player playing non-league football four years ago, he could be

:02:10. > :02:13.able to catapult insult to the bigger stage in sport? That goal has

:02:14. > :02:18.probably put his ticket to France, he took it really well. As David

:02:19. > :02:22.says, coming into the squad you want to make an impression and he had a

:02:23. > :02:28.good first half the other night but the night, him and Shane Ferguson

:02:29. > :02:32.have been the two standout players. No better man to give their thoughts

:02:33. > :02:39.than the record goal-scorer, what have you made of, Washington? Very

:02:40. > :02:45.good. What he does give is energy, you see that, sometimes you get

:02:46. > :02:49.pulled up for a foul on that, the one previously when he may took an

:02:50. > :02:51.extra touch on his left foot to cut the angle down but he had the

:02:52. > :02:56.confidence and the belief was that he knew what he would do, strength.

:02:57. > :03:03.A great finish and the goalkeeper had no idea. And earlier last year

:03:04. > :03:08.you were sent by the manager Michael Neill to watch this player at his

:03:09. > :03:12.club. The first game of the season in Rochdale and I was doing quite a

:03:13. > :03:15.bit of work with Michael going to watch games and Connor was one of

:03:16. > :03:21.the people who stand about 32, playful Northern Ireland. Michael be

:03:22. > :03:25.delighted, when you bring someone in especially at this late stage and

:03:26. > :03:33.this Goore goal on your home debut, he will be delighted. -- they score

:03:34. > :03:38.a goal. Do you expect him to book his ticket to France now?

:03:39. > :03:43.Absolutely, something different, a bit different from Kyle Lafferty

:03:44. > :03:48.stop he has a lot of strength and you can see how he finishes. As said

:03:49. > :03:54.it does give us something different to work on, does he want to play him

:03:55. > :03:58.up front off Lafferty, that may be an interesting combination.

:03:59. > :04:02.Certainly gives him options, Washington could have had an earlier

:04:03. > :04:06.one? He did and the one he did score, here again he shows strength

:04:07. > :04:14.and skill, a wee bit of composure. The goalkeeper has done well. He

:04:15. > :04:19.shows his confidence going by the centre-half and getting the shot off

:04:20. > :04:29.his left foot stop to show that little bit extra skill. I know

:04:30. > :04:33.Michael O'Neill was frustrated that when he played the three at the back

:04:34. > :04:36.against Wales, the strikers did not see as much action as he would have

:04:37. > :04:43.hoped, howdy thing that experiment has gone playing the three at the

:04:44. > :04:47.back this evening? They have not tested us too much, maybe a couple

:04:48. > :04:51.of half chances, with the goal if you see where we actually win the

:04:52. > :04:59.ball, it is Jonny Evans who wins its high up the pitch which we are in

:05:00. > :05:03.possession and Anna gives us the chance to get the strikers on the

:05:04. > :05:07.ball and we have just seen what Washington can do when he gets it.

:05:08. > :05:12.Slovenia have had plenty of possession but have not troubled too

:05:13. > :05:15.much? It's comfortable for the goalkeeper. There have been a few

:05:16. > :05:23.half chances. Good defending by Gareth at the start. All in all,

:05:24. > :05:36.Michael Wilby pretty confident going in annex, is that way. Especially

:05:37. > :05:40.friendlies, substitutions will happen, Michael should be delighted

:05:41. > :05:45.with the back three, it is something he has worked on. In his early days

:05:46. > :05:50.it was something he played, especially away from home. Again

:05:51. > :05:55.going into the Euros we need some indifferent in case we need a

:05:56. > :06:00.change. With Chris Brunt out injured, he does have to look at

:06:01. > :06:04.alternatives in case he needs to play the system against teams in the

:06:05. > :06:12.finals? Exactly you need to be to change things, you experiment with

:06:13. > :06:17.the formation, it is something he might play in the Euros or not. If

:06:18. > :06:22.the players are used to it than they know they can adapt to that role.

:06:23. > :06:24.Why does he like to switch between the two systems without making a

:06:25. > :06:29.substitution as well which seems to be important? It is important for

:06:30. > :06:33.the flow and important for players to understand their roles, having

:06:34. > :06:36.worked with Michael, the players will be well drilled and whatever

:06:37. > :06:43.formation they will play, it'll give them something else if they are

:06:44. > :06:47.winning, something that can go with the experience and know-how. Or if

:06:48. > :06:54.they need to shut up shop especially against Germany, Ukraine or Poland,

:06:55. > :06:58.when he played 3-5- two you are always in the game and it is

:06:59. > :07:01.something he would drill into the players, if it does need to go to

:07:02. > :07:10.that the players will know their jobs. Shane Ferguson, he has been

:07:11. > :07:14.lively? With him being more offensive of the two wingbacks I

:07:15. > :07:21.thought he would get forward and he has got in some great crosses. He

:07:22. > :07:26.also has worked hard, I think we have seen here he gets back and

:07:27. > :07:32.across other back post and he manages to get it away for corner.

:07:33. > :07:36.He has been a big plus this evening. When you play three at the back the

:07:37. > :07:44.wingbacks will always have plenty of work to do. It is a graveyard shift.

:07:45. > :07:47.Sometimes when you look at shame he's not the biggest or the

:07:48. > :07:52.strongest or the quickest but what he is is technically gifted. He

:07:53. > :07:59.works hard and sometimes that one he dealt with at the back post, there

:08:00. > :08:03.are times when he could use the lack of fight to put it on players coming

:08:04. > :08:08.forward but he has done well. He has been a threat going forward to.

:08:09. > :08:12.Michael Neser much on the other side, he is more defensive but that

:08:13. > :08:19.is the role he is adjusting to. Michael Smith making his debut. He

:08:20. > :08:25.has done well, nothing spectacular and is kept things simple when he

:08:26. > :08:30.has needed to, Summers touches at times -- some nice touches. You want

:08:31. > :08:34.to get off to a good debut and make sure your first pass is good and

:08:35. > :08:41.many can get into the game. He has done very well so far, maybe not the

:08:42. > :08:48.same threat as Shane Ferguson but, he is a right back by trade. This

:08:49. > :08:55.might be a new learning curve for him to. It is obviously a friendly,

:08:56. > :08:59.it is about experimentation for the finals, how important is the team

:09:00. > :09:06.can keep the momentum going and get the unbeaten record going into the

:09:07. > :09:09.finals. There are confidence to the players, the feel-good factor about

:09:10. > :09:13.the stadium, you can hear the atmosphere tonight, it is incredible

:09:14. > :09:17.for a friendly, Meehan Keith have played in lots of friendly say when

:09:18. > :09:25.the crowd has been quiet. Maybe the new stadium being built, the

:09:26. > :09:30.pressure is off, we are in France so it is a big atmosphere and hopefully

:09:31. > :09:36.keeping the run going is crucial. I'm sure Michael will be drilling

:09:37. > :09:41.that and hopefully get the results. The fans are in full voice to not,

:09:42. > :09:45.preparations continue, Northern Ireland of course one to make a big

:09:46. > :09:49.impact when they get there on and off the pitch, as we find out when

:09:50. > :10:07.there were getting dressed to impress.

:10:08. > :10:18.Straight off the peg so no alterations, happy with that. Slim

:10:19. > :10:24.fit, all the luck to be happy with that. A special thing going into the

:10:25. > :10:31.tournament, this seems to be part and parcel. We're still on the crest

:10:32. > :10:44.of the wave, a bit surreal but it is nice. They wanted to make it special

:10:45. > :11:00.for us and obviously, looking forward to it now. We started here

:11:01. > :11:06.in 1879, the lads getting into the Euros is the cream, we are so proud

:11:07. > :11:11.to be involved. There has Lisbon talk getting fitted us forces and it

:11:12. > :11:15.has taken us to qualify before we could get one, everyone has been

:11:16. > :11:28.looking forward to it to see what style they would be putting a sin. I

:11:29. > :11:32.think we are unbeaten in nine now so hopefully we can keep that going.

:11:33. > :11:42.Getting closer all the time and we have seat fittings and we have other

:11:43. > :11:45.things plan, it brings more of the excitement forward and gives us

:11:46. > :11:55.something to look forward to when we are out there. You have been

:11:56. > :11:58.speaking to many players, there is a real air of excitement and

:11:59. > :12:03.expectation about them heading to the finals is in there? There is but

:12:04. > :12:06.you can see the bond between the players, getting fitted for the

:12:07. > :12:12.suits, I was joking with Keith when I first came, we were given an IFA

:12:13. > :12:15.suit with a big IFA badge and it was like cardboard so it is nice to see

:12:16. > :12:19.the money we are getting for qualifying is going to good use.

:12:20. > :12:28.They are having a good bond which is very important. Of course, players

:12:29. > :12:33.getting on, they have done the country proud. They will represent

:12:34. > :12:46.us in France and it is what needed to be done, they have certainly look

:12:47. > :12:56.the part. OK so let's join Mark Sidebottom who is per side. I was

:12:57. > :13:00.just saying if Connor Washington has made his dream home debut, it must

:13:01. > :13:05.be the dream job for you, the first-ever qualification for the

:13:06. > :13:08.Euros and we're looking at the guys getting suited and booted, you have

:13:09. > :13:13.been there the whole time? Such a brilliant opportunity. We have a new

:13:14. > :13:17.national football stadium at Windsor park, we have corporate hospitality

:13:18. > :13:24.for the first time, we had Pat Jennings along with Jackie Fullerton

:13:25. > :13:34.hosting so that has been brilliant. Washington, it sells more shares for

:13:35. > :13:38.me. 120 suits, it sounds a lot, I take it the women are also being

:13:39. > :13:41.looked after? Of course we have glamorous women who are being looked

:13:42. > :13:45.after that we are not putting them in men's suits, we would just as

:13:46. > :13:48.ladies. The expectation is the stadium will be completed in time

:13:49. > :13:53.for the World Cup in October, in terms of sales and marketing, where

:13:54. > :13:57.are you in your trajectory? Well things are great, we have spent some

:13:58. > :14:02.time over in London talking to a number of big brands and we're

:14:03. > :14:07.looking for naming rights and are looking at a few corporate boxes

:14:08. > :14:13.left which are getting snapped up. Thank you very much. We would like

:14:14. > :14:19.to go to the Pat Jennings Lounge after the match. Anyway lots to talk

:14:20. > :14:25.about before then. Northern Ireland winning 1-0, what you expect them to

:14:26. > :14:29.produce in the second half? Hopefully pretty much the same, as I

:14:30. > :14:34.said before, hopefully the substitutions will happen. One thing

:14:35. > :14:39.he will do, he will experiment and give people opportunities. I hope it

:14:40. > :14:43.doesn't take it away and I hope he'll be saying a clean sheet whimsy

:14:44. > :14:49.the game. Do you expect to see Kyle Lafferty or will he keep him on the

:14:50. > :14:59.bench considering? I wouldn't be surprised to see a cameo towards the

:15:00. > :15:07.end. He needs gametime, I saw Washington gets a full 90 minutes.

:15:08. > :15:10.He stays on for the second half and Aaron Hughes is coming on as a

:15:11. > :15:30.replacement, time to go back to the commentary team. , --, COMMENTATOR:

:15:31. > :15:33.Aaron Hughes, ever closer to the 100 Capcom he would be the first

:15:34. > :15:37.outfield player to reach a century for Northern Ireland.

:15:38. > :15:48.Also coming up, a couple of changes for Slovenia.

:15:49. > :16:14.They have made a huge changes, -- a few changes.

:16:15. > :16:22.Ilicic is the man who has been replaced. What have Slovenia got in

:16:23. > :16:29.this second half, it'll be interesting to see. How interested

:16:30. > :16:38.they are to get back in the game, will they simply want to go through

:16:39. > :16:41.the motions or is the goal coming at the end of the first half from

:16:42. > :16:49.Connor Washington the difference between the two sides. You're

:16:50. > :16:55.talking about Michael Smith making his debut, Mark Williams the man who

:16:56. > :17:01.made his debut at 28 and Ferguson has been in touch and wanted to

:17:02. > :17:06.point out he was 29 when he made his debut, a few months later the Mark

:17:07. > :17:15.Williams. Michael Smith the oldest man to make his international debut

:17:16. > :17:23.and Glenn Ferguson. The debut of Ferguson against Norway.

:17:24. > :17:36.I think that game we were 3-0 down. 4-0 it finished. Did you play that

:17:37. > :17:43.night? Know I was coaching. We are still on course to get the 100th cap

:17:44. > :17:50.against the vacuo. He played against Belarus in means he would play his

:17:51. > :17:54.cap against the opposition where he got his first. That would be a nice

:17:55. > :18:04.quiet. What a night for Aaron Hughes. One of those without doubt

:18:05. > :18:12.will be on the plane barring injury. His experience will be met I think.

:18:13. > :18:19.Slovenia trying to start the second half the way they started the first

:18:20. > :18:28.on the Frankfurt. Verbic gets it wide. An opportunity here that a

:18:29. > :18:39.good block. Aaron Hughes with a clearance. Ferguson helping it

:18:40. > :18:45.forward, a little nudge, less contact than there was in the

:18:46. > :18:49.build-up to the goal. I think the fact he is slightly behind him

:18:50. > :19:02.caught him. Jokic on the near side. Verbic

:19:03. > :19:16.feeding it into the substitute all one of the substitutes.

:19:17. > :19:31.We spoke about going ten games unbeaten, it was 36 years when

:19:32. > :19:44.Northern Ireland scored second, lots of runs and records they are making

:19:45. > :19:52.their own. Decent ball by Jokic again. Slovenia seeing a lot of the

:19:53. > :19:56.ball in the opening stages. Going for paste this time and unable to

:19:57. > :20:07.pick anybody out. That would drift out for a goal kick. Tries to draw

:20:08. > :20:12.the ball across, has gone out for a goal kick but they have started with

:20:13. > :20:22.a bit of purpose in the second half and maybe Northern Ireland can get a

:20:23. > :20:31.hold of the ball. The star man forced the Beeney. The man with

:20:32. > :20:38.number 11 on his back. Very close to the goal-scoring record, Novakovic,

:20:39. > :20:51.is on 31. Need for goals to equal the record. -- four. Winning his

:20:52. > :20:56.74th cap tonight. Ferguson will get good gametime. It was Bursa who was

:20:57. > :21:18.penalised. Cathcart. Looking at where the

:21:19. > :21:26.options are. Norwood was on the stretch that that could not quite

:21:27. > :21:30.get back into position. Should favour the goalkeeper and Ward is up

:21:31. > :21:35.to the challenge, the referee is not happy, Ward pushed the goalkeeper

:21:36. > :21:40.and the defender Samardzic just pressing his forehead into Jamie

:21:41. > :21:46.Ward. Ward is ready on a yellow card here of course. Washington is on as

:21:47. > :21:53.the bodyguard. I did say at the end of the first half Jamie Ward would

:21:54. > :21:59.need to be careful and not on a yellow card, the referee decides to

:22:00. > :22:10.take the easy way out, Ward could be a goner. I don't think they want to

:22:11. > :22:18.tempt it. He is speaking to Washington now, Jamie Ward would do

:22:19. > :22:22.well to get out of the way. Ward went to just challenge the keeper

:22:23. > :22:30.and to be fair he fell into him and the reaction by Samardzic was a

:22:31. > :22:43.total overreaction and Washington was there to protect his mates.

:22:44. > :22:53.Washington shouldn't be booked. Samardzic should be booked, he

:22:54. > :23:01.started it. It goes off the pitch, it is Astroturf to grass and Jamie

:23:02. > :23:08.just slipped. But a friendly game, you maybe have to look at getting

:23:09. > :23:12.Jamie off because, why Washington was booked is beyond me, and the

:23:13. > :23:19.goalkeeper to be fair did not do a lot. Samardzic the most guilty out

:23:20. > :23:28.of everybody involved managed to avoid getting a card. Where is the

:23:29. > :23:39.official behind the goal? He would have a better picture.

:23:40. > :23:43.There is black, just confirmation that he received a yellow card

:23:44. > :23:57.attract when you compare it to Samardzic who

:23:58. > :24:07.pressed his forehead into Jamie Ward, much ado about nothing.

:24:08. > :24:12.It's life and at the start of the second half anyway. It'll take some

:24:13. > :24:31.momentum. Samardzic... It has continued on

:24:32. > :24:42.from the first part because even off-camera Yaya Toure was having a

:24:43. > :24:50.go at Ward. -- Samardzic. Aaron Hughes. His debut came in a game,

:24:51. > :24:53.one of the games, the last time Northern Ireland 12 friendlies in a

:24:54. > :24:56.row, here's a chance for Smith. Can he pick out a pass? Only finds a

:24:57. > :25:12.defender. One of those opportunities where he

:25:13. > :25:23.maybe had too much time. We will sit back, Jamie Ward was in a better

:25:24. > :25:27.position, good leave by Washington. Jamie is in a better position. Role

:25:28. > :25:32.that across. We all know, concerns. Jewel

:25:33. > :26:09.engineers across the country. A little talent by Norwood the

:26:10. > :26:18.referee settles for a throw in. Ferguson felt he was fouled. It has

:26:19. > :26:25.worked in favour of the stadium. Three new side instead of two. They

:26:26. > :26:35.will forever be indebted to the bouncy. Washington. Does well and

:26:36. > :26:43.the defender steals it back from him.

:26:44. > :26:51.One of the other interesting things was giving McGovern the 90 in Wales

:26:52. > :26:56.and Roy Carroll giving 90 minutes here and as a goalkeeper would you

:26:57. > :27:01.rather have that than 45 and 45? Personally I preferred that, if

:27:02. > :27:02.you're going to play, if you're going to only get 405I would rather

:27:03. > :27:22.have the first -- 45, I would. Did you concede a goal that night?

:27:23. > :28:09.Probably. It was only 1-0. Ferguson. Tries to get his team-mate forward

:28:10. > :28:47.and Verbic is the runner. Washington is on the move. Norwood

:28:48. > :28:59.keeps it on the right-hand side. Cleared eventually. It is given away

:29:00. > :29:59.to Bursa. Safety first, puts it behind for the

:30:00. > :30:01.corner. The right decision. Michael O'Neill wants to make a double

:30:02. > :30:07.change share and he was thinking about not making it that he is going

:30:08. > :30:13.to make the change. Jamie Ward comes off, partly for his own protection.

:30:14. > :30:19.Walking a tightrope and Kyle Lafferty is going to come on. Kyle

:30:20. > :30:24.Lafferty this seems to have a piece of paper in a sand will pass on some

:30:25. > :30:28.message or instruction to someone. We will see what the other changes.

:30:29. > :30:49.Dallas is coming on for Ferguson. The piece of paper will be either

:30:50. > :30:54.because of the changes in marking, all because of a change of system.

:30:55. > :30:58.On comes Dallas for Ferguson. Slovenia want to make two changes as

:30:59. > :31:03.well, but I don't think we will have those at the moment. All we would be

:31:04. > :31:15.waiting half the night before we can have the corner. An attempted flick

:31:16. > :31:23.on at the near post. That is going to be a free kick. Roy Carroll runs

:31:24. > :31:33.out of his area a long way. He is telling the referee exactly what he

:31:34. > :31:38.thought of the challenge. It is because it is Samardzic again. The

:31:39. > :31:42.referee is being told by Roy Carroll that he got away with one at the

:31:43. > :31:58.other end, and you should be booking him. Another couple of changes. It

:31:59. > :32:06.is all rather messy at this stage. Peter star Jana bitches on -- Peter

:32:07. > :32:34.star Jana Vick is on. The flag is up for offside, I think.

:32:35. > :32:38.Dallas was a bit too keen after coming on. It is not a change of

:32:39. > :33:14.system. Stojanovic was maybe trying to rough

:33:15. > :33:36.things up a bit. Washington and applying pressure,

:33:37. > :33:57.and Samardzic decided to put it behind for a corner.

:33:58. > :34:04.We should get Mark Sidebottom to run around and retrieve that piece of

:34:05. > :34:07.paper to see what it says. The referee almost got on the way of

:34:08. > :34:28.that set piece. It caught everybody by surprise.

:34:29. > :34:34.If Northern Ireland do go on and learned this unbeaten record, it

:34:35. > :34:39.would be a record for any Northern Ireland side. Dallas will have

:34:40. > :34:43.played in all ten of the matches. He started in eight of them, was on as

:34:44. > :34:46.a substitute in two. Oliver Norwood would be the only man to start all

:34:47. > :35:15.pen in the sequence. -- all ten. Dallas is being asked to do some

:35:16. > :35:26.defending. Corner kick for the visitors.

:35:27. > :35:39.Their record in friendlies away from home is not great. And they are 1-0

:35:40. > :35:44.down here. He has given the penalty for a foul, for some pulling on the

:35:45. > :35:49.defender. Point to the spot straightaway. And Jonny Evans is

:35:50. > :36:00.penalised, and the referee shows him a yellow card. Let's pick the bones

:36:01. > :36:06.out of this, Tommy. He put his arm around his neck. It wasn't exactly

:36:07. > :36:19.subtle. You can see why the referee decided to give it. So the man who

:36:20. > :36:30.scored 31 international goals up against Roy Carroll is off. Great

:36:31. > :36:36.save by Roy Carroll, diving to his right and pushing it away. We were

:36:37. > :36:43.hearing yesterday about Northern Ireland, and Roy Carroll was

:36:44. > :36:47.magnificent. He was saving two out of every three penalties he faced

:36:48. > :36:53.from Northern Ireland players, and he saved the most important one, one

:36:54. > :36:59.during the match. Northern Ireland's lead is preserved. Any penalty save

:37:00. > :37:05.is a good save, but it is a big moment in the game. The referee has

:37:06. > :37:10.seen loads of things happen in the box, but he is right to give the

:37:11. > :37:14.penalty kick. But Roy made amends for that with a great save. Still

:37:15. > :37:28.some more defending to be done. Here is the penalty save again.

:37:29. > :38:02.Great save. Roy Carroll, back between the posts.

:38:03. > :38:08.A first start since the friendly game against Qatar in May, and the

:38:09. > :38:11.big moment in the match. He said the penalty during the qualifying

:38:12. > :38:24.campaign against the Faroe Islands here. And he saves another. Another

:38:25. > :38:26.warning, though, for Northern Ireland, that this game is not done

:38:27. > :39:26.and dusted yet. Stojanovic with the cross, not a

:39:27. > :39:55.great clearance. Another change coming up as we get

:39:56. > :40:12.another look at the awarding of the penalty. It is a good save.

:40:13. > :40:16.Washington is coming off. He will always remember this night, his

:40:17. > :40:19.first international goal, and perhaps the night that he cemented

:40:20. > :40:28.his place in the squad for the finals. He is replaced by Josh

:40:29. > :40:31.Magennis as we look at the goal, the battering ram, forcing his way

:40:32. > :40:39.through, but then the composure to provide the finish. A memorable

:40:40. > :40:43.night for Conor Washington, who, as the boys were saying our half-time,

:40:44. > :40:46.until about four years ago, was playing part-time football and

:40:47. > :40:50.working as a postman. And now all of a sudden, he is on his way to the

:40:51. > :40:58.European Championship finals, you would think. Here's an example for

:40:59. > :41:03.all your footballers out there. If you look at Vardy as well with

:41:04. > :41:06.England and where he was a few seasons ago, if you keep working

:41:07. > :41:11.hard and keep moving in your ability, you do get the breaks. And

:41:12. > :41:22.you have to take them, and he has certainly done that. Now he has a

:41:23. > :41:25.great opportunity to go to the Euros. Another change coming up.

:41:26. > :42:02.McLoughlin is Surely that is the six Northern

:42:03. > :42:13.Ireland substitutes all used up by now. You do lose count. LcLaughlin,

:42:14. > :42:22.Lafferty, Dallas, Hughes and Magennis. I think there is one more.

:42:23. > :42:28.Magennis tries to bite his way through. -- to barge his way

:42:29. > :42:41.through. The referee says that is not a foul.

:42:42. > :43:03.He has had a good season personally in the SPFL. A former goalkeeper. I

:43:04. > :43:09.watched them play and I came away thinking, he is not a goalkeeper and

:43:10. > :43:14.he became one, but it didn't last long. It is an incredible journey.

:43:15. > :43:21.It is. Would you have passed as a centre forward? I scored the other

:43:22. > :43:28.day, so I can still knock one in the back of the net. Magennis has made a

:43:29. > :43:33.run, towards the near post. The goalkeeper got a touch. He couldn't

:43:34. > :43:40.hang onto it. It was a difficult one for Magennis to move towards the

:43:41. > :43:46.target. That is what he is good at. And the keeper just gets to it

:43:47. > :44:01.before Josh does. Josh probably puts the keeper off a bit. That is what

:44:02. > :44:22.Keil gives you, that direct this -- what Kyle Lafferty gives you.

:44:23. > :44:37.The goalkeeper had a bit of luck. I have just seen Donnie Evans

:44:38. > :44:50.off-camera -- Jonny Evans. Paddy has done well tonight. The experience

:44:51. > :44:59.will help him. A foul on Dallas. And another change. We can see the file

:45:00. > :45:28.again on Dallas. leaves us, and he is repressed by

:45:29. > :45:56.Matic Sir Nick, who is number 18. -- replaced.

:45:57. > :46:03.Lafferty across the back post, but the flag was up for offside. Good

:46:04. > :46:29.diagonal ball in from LcLaughlin. The header well won by Cathcart. He

:46:30. > :46:34.made his debut against Slovenia in Maribor. He made the only goal that

:46:35. > :46:40.night for Corry Evans. We were talking about it earlier. He was a

:46:41. > :46:44.late replacement for Jonny Evans, who was sat in the stands that

:46:45. > :47:05.evening, watching his brother scored a goal. He has not scored one since.

:47:06. > :47:32.A difficult backpass for the goalkeeper, but he does well.

:47:33. > :47:41.The familiar figure of us, wearing the gloves all night. -- the figure

:47:42. > :48:04.of Birsa. Northern Ireland are on track for

:48:05. > :48:11.another 1-0 home friendly win. It was 1-0 against Latvia in November,

:48:12. > :48:14.when we were here. The same will do again for Michael O'Neill as he

:48:15. > :48:27.prepares to make another change. It is going to be Niall McGinn to play

:48:28. > :48:31.for the last 12 or 13 minutes. Lafferty is putting pressure on the

:48:32. > :48:34.Slovenian back four. Off to Birmingham City after this for a

:48:35. > :48:41.long spell between now and the end of the season, which can only be

:48:42. > :48:50.good. I am not sure if he is nursing something, Lafferty. Keep an eye on

:48:51. > :48:56.that. He was poking himself or feeling himself and stretching a

:48:57. > :49:02.leg. So, time for the final substitution for Northern Ireland.

:49:03. > :49:13.Paddy McNair is coming off, and Niall McGinn is coming on. Another

:49:14. > :49:18.good night for Paddy McNair. He has timed his arrival on the

:49:19. > :49:24.international scene perfectly. Another good performance. Yes, an

:49:25. > :49:35.accomplished performance. He reads the game well. And he will get

:49:36. > :49:42.better and better as time goes on. Niall McGinn was the last substitute

:49:43. > :49:48.to score for Northern Ireland. He scored one in the group opener in

:49:49. > :49:54.Hungary in the game in Budapest. Northern Ireland came from 1-0 down

:49:55. > :50:00.for the first time ever to win a game. McGinn was a real catalyst

:50:01. > :50:07.that night when he came off the bench, and was rewarded with a goal.

:50:08. > :50:18.Slovenia are now making a change. Cesar is coming off. And he will be

:50:19. > :50:31.replaced by Alli Asher true no. -- one of two brothers, Aljaz Struna.

:50:32. > :50:36.He will get the last ten minutes. Magennis goes down again. The

:50:37. > :51:11.referee gives the decision, and it will be a free kick.

:51:12. > :51:22.Cathcart will be eyeing up another goal after scoring in Cardiff.

:51:23. > :51:34.The referee has given a foul there. That is a good decision from the

:51:35. > :52:15.ref. Magennis thought he was offside. Not

:52:16. > :52:18.sure he was. Northern Ireland are on the verge of this little bit of

:52:19. > :52:23.history we have spoken about, ten games unbeaten for the first time

:52:24. > :52:28.ever. It will be the first time since 1998 that a Northern Ireland

:52:29. > :52:38.team has won two home friendlies in a row. The first was against

:52:39. > :52:50.Slovakia, followed by a 1-0 win against Switzerland. They have not

:52:51. > :52:54.gone seven games at home unbeaten since 1992. They are extending a lot

:52:55. > :52:57.of these runs at the right time, just before a major final when you

:52:58. > :53:04.want to be going there with your tails up and with lots of positive

:53:05. > :53:07.stories and plenty of momentum. Good performances and good results are

:53:08. > :53:12.always a good thing to have. They have made a slight change now.

:53:13. > :53:24.Magennis has moved over to the right. Norwood takes the corner.

:53:25. > :53:48.This could be trouble. That shot was not going to trouble

:53:49. > :53:56.Roy Carroll, from that sort of distance. Verbic got carried away a

:53:57. > :54:04.bit. There was a misunderstanding at the edge of the box. They have a two

:54:05. > :54:14.versus two. If they played the right pass, it

:54:15. > :54:57.could have been slightly different. Aljaz Struna was happy to let that

:54:58. > :55:03.one go out for a goal kick. Magennis is one you will see a lot of in this

:55:04. > :55:11.Cottage Premiership. Yes, he has done in the well at Aberdeen. They

:55:12. > :55:42.mainly play a 4-2-3-1. Again, he is having a really good

:55:43. > :55:50.career. Slovenia have roughly five minutes plus luggage time --

:55:51. > :55:54.stoppage time to find an equaliser. Northern Ireland will be hoping they

:55:55. > :55:57.can keep another clean sheet. They had a clean sheet the last time they

:55:58. > :56:04.were here in November against Latvia, as we were saying. It is a

:56:05. > :56:15.strong, solid platform on which to build. If they do manage to see this

:56:16. > :56:21.one out, it will mean that penalty in Cardiff will be the only goal

:56:22. > :56:27.they have conceded. Sometimes you think maybe there is a tendency, or

:56:28. > :56:32.we have taken our foot off the gas, but that hasn't happened. It is down

:56:33. > :56:36.to Michael and the staff and the players. There is a great spirit

:56:37. > :56:40.amongst them and they will want to keep this one going and keep the

:56:41. > :56:44.feel-good factor going for as long as possible. There is a lot of

:56:45. > :57:06.flexibility in the squad. The shot is deflected. It was Krhin

:57:07. > :58:02.who had shot. Good defensive header. Birsa takes the corner. 2- Struna.

:58:03. > :58:27.-- it is too high for Struna. Our Estonian referee decided that

:58:28. > :58:42.was worthy. That was a clear foul and a yellow

:58:43. > :59:23.card, but he did play at Anfield. Verbic has been cautioned. You have

:59:24. > :59:29.to get the names correct. I have probably made a hash of the

:59:30. > :59:46.pronunciation. I don't think we have done too bad. We are almost fluent!

:59:47. > :59:52.Roy Carroll has already saved a penalty tonight. Birsa has been good

:59:53. > :00:03.all night for them. Terrible corner. Norwood has to

:00:04. > :00:20.concede another one. A few worrying moments. Carroll

:00:21. > :00:28.comes for this one. That's a good punch, a good distance on it. Bursa

:00:29. > :00:36.may go for a shot insert, no, goes for the cross. Cathcart quite happy

:00:37. > :00:46.to have it out over on that far side.

:00:47. > :00:52.The fourth official will appear surely I am sure with his electronic

:00:53. > :01:00.board and it will tell us how many minutes we have left to play. With

:01:01. > :01:07.the number of subs it should be more than three. Three minutes.

:01:08. > :01:19.Samardzic. Fernandinho was able to get it out

:01:20. > :01:24.to the right-hand side -- firm macro. He has seen quite a lot of

:01:25. > :01:40.the ball since he has been introduced. There he is right on cue

:01:41. > :01:47.finishing the half out Slovenia in Northern Ireland territory. The big

:01:48. > :02:06.question is can they find a way past Rick Carroll. -- Roy Carroll.

:02:07. > :02:27.That will not be a corner, Roy Carroll does remarkably well to keep

:02:28. > :02:51.it in. Always on his toes, even at 38. He

:02:52. > :03:06.has had a good day, made saves when he had to stop.

:03:07. > :03:13.Your goalkeeper Tommy celebrating the birth of a child so

:03:14. > :03:20.congratulations to Alan and all of the family who I'm sure our

:03:21. > :03:28.celebrating, he will be... Who is your next game? Dundee United. They

:03:29. > :03:37.are bottom. You may see Billy Mckay then? They will both be playing. The

:03:38. > :03:41.announcement of the Man of the Match, no surprise, Conor Washington

:03:42. > :03:47.who has scored his first international goal, he picks up his

:03:48. > :03:50.first Man of the Match award on his first international appearance at

:03:51. > :03:56.Windsor park. A night to remember for him. Hopefully many more to

:03:57. > :04:04.come. From what we have seen tonight he would think so. Certainly he has

:04:05. > :04:08.done himself proud, a great victory and the run continues. A great night

:04:09. > :04:13.for Michael O'Neill and his staff, they can head to Munich tomorrow

:04:14. > :04:17.after watching his team cord another win for Northern Island and setting

:04:18. > :04:25.a new record of ten win for Northern Island and setting

:04:26. > :04:28.defeat. Roy Carroll playing his part. Once saved from a penalty, a

:04:29. > :04:33.vital intervention from a goalkeeper. A good night for the

:04:34. > :04:39.manager and his players, the good run continues and just two games to

:04:40. > :04:43.go now until the fans head off to France. Belarus at the end of the

:04:44. > :04:48.may and at the end of that Michael O'Neill has two pick his squad and

:04:49. > :04:52.they then head off to a training camp, Josh Magennis will hope he is

:04:53. > :04:58.on that flight and then it'll be a game against the back year, Aaron

:04:59. > :05:03.Hughes on 98 caps for hoping he can reach the century of appearances.

:05:04. > :05:08.The first alpha player to get 200, you got 45 minutes tonight. Stuart

:05:09. > :05:12.Dallas came off the bench. Slovenia played well in places but we did not

:05:13. > :05:16.see too much from their bar a couple of chances in the second half. Good

:05:17. > :05:20.night for Steve Davis the skipper and the rest of the players, it has

:05:21. > :05:27.finished Northern Ireland 1-0 Slovenia.

:05:28. > :05:31.STUDIO: David Healy and Keith Gillespie have been enjoying this

:05:32. > :05:36.victory this evening. A very satisfying night in the office for

:05:37. > :05:39.Michael O'Neill and the boys? He will be very happy, especially with

:05:40. > :05:43.the clean sheet, you look at the great there, delighted, I'm blighted

:05:44. > :05:48.for them because a difficult one and a tough season. He has been left out

:05:49. > :05:53.of the team in favour of Michael in some qualifying games but he proved

:05:54. > :05:58.his worth night. I am a big fan of Rick, the amounts of says he has

:05:59. > :06:02.made, we talked about it, fortunately tonight he picked right

:06:03. > :06:09.and a great save, I think one he made after was even better. 19 years

:06:10. > :06:16.since the debut, he has been around for ever. He must be 48. He never

:06:17. > :06:25.lets you down Roy. Two big saves tonight. Again it has given Michael

:06:26. > :06:30.another nudge about who will start when we get to France and as you say

:06:31. > :06:35.we played with Roy for quite a few years and is a great lad so we're

:06:36. > :06:38.both to light up for him. This Northern Ireland team really seems

:06:39. > :06:44.to be playing with a steely resolve, they are very hard to beat. We are

:06:45. > :06:49.and that is a positive, clean sheets when you a lot of game and two clean

:06:50. > :06:54.sheets into home friendlies, it has been a long time since we have won

:06:55. > :07:01.games 1-0, especially in friendly so a lot of positives. I think the big

:07:02. > :07:06.plus tonight is wrote in a couple of other players and Conor Washington

:07:07. > :07:08.scoring on his home debut. Man of the Match try Conor Washington and

:07:09. > :07:17.his plane ticket to France looks increasingly good. Fully deserved.

:07:18. > :07:22.Maybe Roy Rand and close to the two says that he was a menace to the

:07:23. > :07:26.Slovenian defence or not, he took his goal really well and could have

:07:27. > :07:32.had another. It is hard work which counts. As we said at half-time,

:07:33. > :07:37.four years ago playing non-league football, this is an absolute dream

:07:38. > :07:44.to catapult into a major finals if you can. It is any see the reactions

:07:45. > :07:47.from the crowd when he comes. He would have enjoyed that and the

:07:48. > :07:55.crowd to. Windsor park faithful love goal-scorers. As you know. He is

:07:56. > :08:01.only one behind Keith now which is good. Let's have a look at his

:08:02. > :08:06.performance the CeBIT, what you like about, Washington? His workrate

:08:07. > :08:10.strength, in European football sometimes referees would be inclined

:08:11. > :08:17.to give a foul but he showed his strength and power. More than

:08:18. > :08:22.anything his calmness and composure to reverse eyes the goalkeeper, a

:08:23. > :08:28.great finish. He may have narrowed that angle himself but his strength,

:08:29. > :08:34.he wants to go by, the confidence and has the ability. There is a big

:08:35. > :08:44.plus tonight and he will only get better with experience. Considering

:08:45. > :08:52.four years ago to where he is now, must be a dream come true. You see

:08:53. > :09:00.her, people sometimes question need peoples commitment the cause, he

:09:01. > :09:05.bonded quickly. He showed he would not stand and watch one of his

:09:06. > :09:08.team-mates be blamed, he was unlucky at the time Jamie Ward, he was

:09:09. > :09:13.coming to the goalkeeper who wanted to fight but Conor was there to back

:09:14. > :09:17.him up and that is what every player wants to see. You can see my claim

:09:18. > :09:21.you're being pleased, it must be difficult to parachute herself into

:09:22. > :09:26.an already settled squad which has come through a qualifying campaign

:09:27. > :09:32.and told the group as well? We have done exceptionally well. We are

:09:33. > :09:38.always looking for a better and if he makes us better then he certainly

:09:39. > :09:41.should be on the plane. You could see how delighted he was when he

:09:42. > :09:45.came off there, had a nice embrace with Michael and certainly playing

:09:46. > :09:49.his first home game, imported to hit the ground running. Get the fans on

:09:50. > :09:53.your side because there are no better fans to have on your side, he

:09:54. > :09:57.certainly ended to the fans and they were certainly vocal. Especially

:09:58. > :09:59.when Roy Carroll made a penalty save, let's look at the incident

:10:00. > :10:11.first penalty fair enough? Jonny save, let's look at the incident

:10:12. > :10:17.begets court, -- may be get caught. I think there was contact and he

:10:18. > :10:22.will be slightly disappointed. In European football, European

:10:23. > :10:27.referees, they will give a penalty. We spoke about it, his ability to

:10:28. > :10:36.save penalties, he has done that for a number of years now that I think

:10:37. > :10:45.you've mentioned that. Fair play and I'm delighted for him. A great lad.

:10:46. > :10:50.I know you both know him very well, I stood here at training earlier,

:10:51. > :10:57.watching him safe penalty after penalty, it is something he

:10:58. > :10:59.practices, a lot? He fancies themselves against

:11:00. > :11:02.practices, a lot? He fancies penalties. We spoke off air about

:11:03. > :11:06.how good he is at saving penalties and low and behold he gets a penalty

:11:07. > :11:12.and they save it. He just guessed the right way and palm it away. It

:11:13. > :11:17.has been a great night for him, he has been out for a while but he has

:11:18. > :11:21.bounced back. Keeping a clean sheet will be crucial when it comes to

:11:22. > :11:24.winning the year as and when you can pull a player like Roy Carroll and

:11:25. > :11:31.have his ability to make great saves, and from open play as well?

:11:32. > :11:37.This was a better save to be honest because it was lower down and again

:11:38. > :11:51.Roy is getting on but he certainly showed that. The crowd love to see

:11:52. > :11:55.that. A massive save, it shows the experience and there will be a call

:11:56. > :12:09.coming, I know Michael left him out for reasons unknown to us but.

:12:10. > :12:17.Judging by what you told us, there weren't too many of them, it is

:12:18. > :12:25.something you have to practice before big tournaments. Wouldn't

:12:26. > :12:35.want to see too many of those. Let's not get carried away to yet -- just

:12:36. > :12:39.yet. Roy I was standing up in the studio with the boys and they were

:12:40. > :12:44.actually saying I'd bet he saves this, how confident were you? Are

:12:45. > :12:50.you telling the truth? Yesterday said it. I have been watching

:12:51. > :12:54.penalties the last few days and I guess the right way, he was going

:12:55. > :13:01.right down there in the two penalties before and I went earlier

:13:02. > :13:08.rant saved it. We are looking at it. Was it a guest? Know I was doing it

:13:09. > :13:11.in training and will practising penalties there so I had a lot of

:13:12. > :13:17.penalties against me. It was nice to say that. 19 years ago you had a

:13:18. > :13:26.baby, have you had a better evening in a Northern Ireland jersey? I have

:13:27. > :13:32.enjoyed, it is nice to play in any game and nice to keep a clean sheet

:13:33. > :13:39.and hopefully me and Michael can push for the number one, go to

:13:40. > :13:43.France. At the end of the match there you milk at a little bit and

:13:44. > :13:50.you are entitled to but what was it like? Brilliant, I had some bad

:13:51. > :14:07.nights out there but this was fantastic. I'm loving every minute a

:14:08. > :14:10.great pleasure and hopefully. The keeper there is a great lad, Scott

:14:11. > :14:18.Loach, great to see him keeping a clean sheet. If anything people are

:14:19. > :14:23.saying it was a better save. Filipe Luis you more always happy to just

:14:24. > :14:29.get there? Any save is brilliant but it is hard getting down and it is

:14:30. > :14:34.nice to get down and push it around for a corner kick. Not the best of

:14:35. > :14:40.games but we got the result and we kept that, ten games unbeaten so

:14:41. > :14:46.fantastic. Hopefully we can continue. Appreciate you joining us

:14:47. > :14:51.thank you. You can hear obviously the importance of the record for the

:14:52. > :14:56.players, they wanted to remain unbeaten but they wanted to remain

:14:57. > :15:01.unbeaten because of the row to the finals. It is important. It brings

:15:02. > :15:09.confidence, especially for new players. The record they will be on

:15:10. > :15:15.and run, if they take it into the Euros and beaten, it'll be tough

:15:16. > :15:22.games they play about going there with confidence, who knows. You to

:15:23. > :15:28.know what it is like when Northern Ireland go on a run, when you have

:15:29. > :15:31.been scoring goals match after match after match, does it bonded team and

:15:32. > :15:39.does it going forward when a team can remain unbeaten? Without a

:15:40. > :15:45.doubt. Confidence is up there for all to see. Winning games, you will

:15:46. > :15:50.have confidence. If you keep winning games, keeping the momentum going,

:15:51. > :15:54.they showed tonight it was not the greatest of games but that is what

:15:55. > :15:59.you have to do at times, grind out results and I know it is only a

:16:00. > :16:02.friendly but everyone wanted them to get those ten games unbeaten and

:16:03. > :16:09.they were able to do that and we deserved to win tonight, albeit a

:16:10. > :16:14.below par performance but as I say, the most important thing is a lot of

:16:15. > :16:20.players got gametime and we were able to switch formations again. I

:16:21. > :16:23.think the 3-5 to work very well. I think in the second half with

:16:24. > :16:27.Slovenia they have a lot of the ball and I think that will be the case in

:16:28. > :16:30.the summer where if we play that formation, other teens will have

:16:31. > :16:35.more of the ball and the players will have to adapt and show that

:16:36. > :16:39.they can defend well. Quite often when a team is without the ball it

:16:40. > :16:44.seems a negative thing about Michael O'Neill is quite happy to watch his

:16:45. > :16:47.team without it, a Northern Ireland team comes for whether or not in

:16:48. > :16:54.possession. He works hard at it and the players are well drilled in and

:16:55. > :16:59.out. When you go back, it's Meyler click five but what it does give you

:17:00. > :17:05.is to strikers of the pitch -- it might look like. It gives you a base

:17:06. > :17:13.to get into the game where you will not always be chasing, you need to

:17:14. > :17:19.strikers of the pitch and Aaron Hughes coming on was good, delighted

:17:20. > :17:23.he gets again, and another cap, a lot of positives. We will hear from

:17:24. > :17:27.Conor Washington in a moment. Just before that give me your thoughts on

:17:28. > :17:32.the other two strikers, Kyle Lafferty and Josh Magennis? Josh

:17:33. > :17:37.came on and sometimes he played on the right and an unfamiliar role for

:17:38. > :17:42.himself but one Michael alluded to that he is one of the strikers who

:17:43. > :17:46.can play on the right, Kyle a quiet game for him tonight but he has not

:17:47. > :17:50.played that much trouble, he will go and we spoke before, sometimes when

:17:51. > :17:55.you have not been playing football, it is always the bounce of the

:17:56. > :18:00.second games which you feel the effects but he will go to Berlin and

:18:01. > :18:06.hopefully get games, as long as he does not go and get injured.

:18:07. > :18:09.Sometimes when you're training U21 football, the competitive level is

:18:10. > :18:12.not that high and you can sort of get away with it but now in the

:18:13. > :18:16.hustle and bustle of the championship, maybe 2-3 games a week

:18:17. > :18:22.competitive football, Birmingham pushing for the play-offs hopefully

:18:23. > :18:33.he will go there and stays fit and healthy. Wrap him in cotton wool.

:18:34. > :18:36.Letter from the Man of the Match. Congratulations, Man of the Match,

:18:37. > :18:42.there you go and I said Hugh on Thursday night in Wales, it was a of

:18:43. > :18:49.fairy tale, tonight the fairy tale came real and you score on your home

:18:50. > :18:53.debut? What is it like? Crazy. I had the chance earlier which I was

:18:54. > :18:55.disappointed not to see it going but, I thought the boys played

:18:56. > :19:04.really well and I thought we deserved to win. The initial chance,

:19:05. > :19:08.I think you heard Ward screaming? Yeah. I managed to get down the side

:19:09. > :19:12.of him and as a striker as soon as you see the goal your eyes light up

:19:13. > :19:17.and we think about it scoring so I did apologise to him, I haven't seen

:19:18. > :19:22.him yet but I'll have a look back. Did you try to not making? On my

:19:23. > :19:27.left that was the only place I could put up busy he is a good goalkeeper.

:19:28. > :19:33.Talked me through your goal? The ball came over the top, just try to

:19:34. > :19:37.move him out the way, I managed to and the second guy as well, cut

:19:38. > :19:40.inside and the keyboards are really sort of going into the far corner so

:19:41. > :19:44.I thought I will go for the near corner and it paid off. You are

:19:45. > :19:48.saying off-camera that is what your game is about, hustle and bustle,

:19:49. > :19:53.muscle and at the end the goal. I think I'm right in saying David

:19:54. > :19:56.Healy up their reckons that is the first Northern Ireland player to

:19:57. > :20:03.score on his own international debut in 15 years that George Lakhani

:20:04. > :20:08.weighed against Iceland. I will take that, we set the ten game unbeaten

:20:09. > :20:11.records that is brilliant for Northern Ireland and busy we are

:20:12. > :20:17.looking forward to taking this into the next few games and into the

:20:18. > :20:22.tournament. You were watching David, you are saying legend, did you know

:20:23. > :20:25.that legend was dispatched by Michael O'Neill to what she to

:20:26. > :20:29.Scalia and to look at whether or not you are good enough? That is

:20:30. > :20:35.unbelievable. It has been a fairy tale, definitely the last eight

:20:36. > :20:38.months have been. When you have people like David Healy coming to

:20:39. > :20:45.watch it, you know you're doing an OK job. You must think one flat on

:20:46. > :20:51.the flight? -- foot. I don't want to think about like that, just pleased

:20:52. > :20:56.to get a start and a goal, just keep to working hard and see where it

:20:57. > :21:00.takes us. One final question, watching you it seems that you have

:21:01. > :21:04.integrated immediately, some are due by the at one point with the keeper,

:21:05. > :21:08.you were very quickly in there, it seems the boys have accepted you and

:21:09. > :21:12.you very much or part of the squad. Definitely, it was so easy to come

:21:13. > :21:17.in, they were so welcoming, no egos here and I think that is why it they

:21:18. > :21:25.have been so successful so I enjoyed by week. Some debut at home, well

:21:26. > :21:29.done. Good team spirit, surely he must be allowing himself to dream he

:21:30. > :21:35.is part of it. He should be especially after his performance by

:21:36. > :21:40.all accounts. His performance might more or less without putting a

:21:41. > :21:48.curse, more or less guarantees him a place. Rightly so, a difficult one

:21:49. > :21:54.any Saudi reaction from Michael, he will be please, he stuck his neck

:21:55. > :21:55.out, it is not easy to bring someone in the latter qualified, a positive

:21:56. > :22:06.core and one paid off. Let's from Michael O'Neill. David

:22:07. > :22:12.Healy saying a positive call by you, Conor Washington, the dream home a

:22:13. > :22:15.view, we saw what he saw in him? Certainly and in his defence he did

:22:16. > :22:21.not get the chance away from home to show that but we saw his hunger. You

:22:22. > :22:27.know he is a raw striker and when I see them playing at League 1 level,

:22:28. > :22:32.he was hungry. He showed it again tonight and made a goal out of

:22:33. > :22:37.nothing. Just strength and power and equally he took it very well. At the

:22:38. > :22:42.composure to finish and he deserved the goal, a great night. Could have

:22:43. > :22:47.had one earlier, try to not make the keeper. He is so raw and so strong.

:22:48. > :22:54.Get in the channel and running and he is strong enough to be able to

:22:55. > :22:59.fight his way centre-backs, he does well specially when he is one on one

:23:00. > :23:04.on the inside left channel. I thought the first chance he will

:23:05. > :23:08.get, he will probably was disappointed that he didn't finish

:23:09. > :23:13.it but as I say, the trademark of what I've seen. I asked if it felt

:23:14. > :23:20.like one foot on the flight, he said not. You feel lucky as? It would be

:23:21. > :23:27.unfair of me to say that and disrespectful of other player so as

:23:28. > :23:30.I say, he has done himself no harm. Not only in the performance tonight

:23:31. > :23:34.but in the whole seven days, the way he has trained, the way he's fit

:23:35. > :23:39.into the group, I had no real reservations against that when I met

:23:40. > :23:44.him personally, I got the feeling he was a good lad and he is has proven

:23:45. > :23:48.that is fitting and you psyche will be an asset to us. You have now

:23:49. > :23:51.eclipsed Billy Bingham, what does that mean for you and the squad and

:23:52. > :23:55.he said pre-match players wanted it arguably more than you? It is lovely

:23:56. > :24:00.when you achieve something like this. He was a manager who gave me

:24:01. > :24:05.my a debut so means a little bit more that basis as well. Really for

:24:06. > :24:11.the squad to win ten games, to go unbeaten sorry, for a country of our

:24:12. > :24:16.size and to play six qualification games which we have done, a great

:24:17. > :24:22.achievement, Irene emphasised that to the players and Aaron Hogg

:24:23. > :24:28.heartedly agree and it was his 90th cap tonight. We want to build on the

:24:29. > :24:31.confidence and we are asking our boys to stay up and they did it.

:24:32. > :24:34.Michael Smith coming in, Shane Ferguson coming in and we are

:24:35. > :24:43.getting more of these players every time we put them out. Thanks for

:24:44. > :24:46.joining us. Less than 11 weeks for the opening match and the European

:24:47. > :24:56.Championships, here are the games. Poland.

:24:57. > :25:01.Steve Davis is preparing the skipper Northern Ireland for those finals

:25:02. > :25:03.for the first time since 1986 and as he told me he is hoping his team can

:25:04. > :25:20.leave a lasting impression. We want to go into the tournament is

:25:21. > :25:23.full of confidence and we had conversations and there is

:25:24. > :25:27.excitement building but still so much trouble to be played at this

:25:28. > :25:36.point in time it is hard to take your eye off the ball. Definitely

:25:37. > :25:43.one look ahead. Captain fantastic Steven Davis.

:25:44. > :25:46.We are confident we can go other than show people what we are about.

:25:47. > :26:00.You never know. After the disappointment of the

:26:01. > :26:06.World Cup qualifying campaign which was a difficult period for us, I

:26:07. > :26:13.think everybody believed in what Michael was trying to do, we were

:26:14. > :26:24.not far away so it has been great to lead the team in. No coincidence the

:26:25. > :26:33.only game he has missed was the only game they lost. The crowd I'm sure

:26:34. > :26:41.will see following the footsteps of the greats? Of course very proud for

:26:42. > :26:45.me to leave team. And follow in the footsteps of people like you just

:26:46. > :26:51.name so I think Gareth McAuley said it be great for people to mention it

:26:52. > :27:02.seeing our heroes grab so it is a challenge for us. Their home for the

:27:03. > :27:05.tournament be the training facility outside Lyon, they will then leave

:27:06. > :27:15.their two head to Nice. Here's what lies in store. The population is

:27:16. > :27:20.under 350000 and is the second most popular tourist destination. The fan

:27:21. > :27:23.zone will be situated right beside the beach in the city centre, do you

:27:24. > :27:28.fancy Northern Ireland to make that opening game Chris Mac going in the

:27:29. > :27:32.mood they I would believe the confidence is there, the players

:27:33. > :27:37.believe they are certainly going then just to make the numbers up.

:27:38. > :27:44.Exactly the second game will be here in Ukraine, 30 minutes from the

:27:45. > :27:47.training base. What you reckon? Again a game we are capable of

:27:48. > :27:54.winning and the draw has been kind that we can play the lesser teams

:27:55. > :27:58.before we meet Germany. Final game against the champions the one we are

:27:59. > :28:03.all looking forward to. A huge game, huge for the fans to play against

:28:04. > :28:07.the war chaplains in Paris, it is a game that everybody is looking

:28:08. > :28:12.forward to. Players, staff, fans. A big occasion. Thank you very much,

:28:13. > :28:16.we are certainly looking forward to the summer, tonight it is another

:28:17. > :28:20.Northern Ireland win. They have the record. From all other say goodbye.

:28:21. > :29:04.-- of us here. The British Isles

:29:05. > :29:06.are full of secrets and surprises just waiting

:29:07. > :29:09.to be discovered. for the unexpected...

:29:10. > :29:13...the breathtaking... It's freezing!

:29:14. > :29:15...the hidden. Join us as we reveal

:29:16. > :29:23.our countryside's best kept secrets. Delete Delete Delete

:29:24. > :29:24.is probably the safest option. would let Patrick Kielty browse

:29:25. > :29:28.through their internet history? Can we confirm

:29:29. > :29:31.that these are your laptops? Oh, it's going to be like that,

:29:32. > :29:43.is it? Delete Delete Delete

:29:44. > :29:46.is probably the safest option.