World Cup: Oliver Norwood calls on Northern Ireland to maintain high standards
Oliver Norwood is looking for Northern Ireland to preserve the team spirit which helped them to a point in Portugal.
Last Updated: 18/10/12 11:48am
Few gave Michael O'Neill's men much hope of taking anything from a trip to Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday, but they took the lead before claiming a notable 1-1 draw.
Northern Ireland found themselves pegged back for much of the 2014 World Cup qualifying contest, but battled bravely to collect a share of the spoils.
Huddersfield midfielder Norwood believes similar results could follow, with confidence sky high, but is aware that O'Neill's side cannot afford to let their standards slip after showing what they are capable of.
"We knew this was going to be a tough group but we have got to capitalise on this result in the four home games we have coming up," said Norwood.
"We came out, set our stall out and we've got to build on that now for the rest of the campaign because we've set the standard and we can't drop below that.
"We got a performance out of every single player and we ran our hearts out for each other."
Norwood's midfield partner and national skipper Steven Davis is a veteran of some big nights on the international stage, not least wins over England and Spain, but he considers the result in Portugal to be one of the best he has achieved.
He said: "It's a big highlight for me, especially being away from home to a top team like Portugal.
"We worked really hard and the shape was really good. We frustrated them for long spells.
"Maybe they deserved a goal in the end but hopefully this gives us the confidence for the next run of games coming up."
