Norway vs Northern Ireland. FIFA World Cup European Qualifying Group C.
Ullevaal Stadion.
Monday 9 October 2017 07:27, UK
A bizarre own goal from Chris Brunt condemned Northern Ireland to a 1-0 defeat to Norway in their final World Cup qualifying game in Oslo but Michael O'Neill's side secured a play-off place.
Northern Ireland were guaranteed a play-off place even before a ball had even been kicked following Scotland's 2-2 draw against Slovenia, but O'Neill had named his strongest side before that game had finished meaning six players at risk of suspension all started, including Jonny Evans and Steven Davis.
In a relatively uneventful clash, the deadlock was eventually broken with 20 minutes remaining as Brunt volleyed into the top corner of his own net from under the bar before Alexander Soderlund saw a goal ruled out for offside in second-half stoppage-time.
Despite the defeat, none of Northern Ireland's players on a yellow card were cautioned and O'Neill and his squad can now look ahead to the play-off draw which takes place on October 17.
The first half was a relatively gentle affair with Davis having Northern Ireland's best opportunity with a long-range strike that was parried by Orjan Nyland.
Michael McGovern, so usually a dependable presence in goal for Northern Ireland, was shaky throughout and he almost made a mess of Birger Meling's tame volley from the edge of the area just before the interval, parrying the effort wide for a corner.
The hosts stepped up a gear in the second half and almost took the lead on 50 minutes when Tore Reginiussen got a toe on the end of Sander Birge's shot but McGovern made a smart reaction save to keep it out before Soderlund converted the rebound from an offside position.
Eventually, Norway's dominance paid off although their goal came in unorthodox fashion as McGovern flapped at Stefan Johansen's dinked cross to the far post with Brunt lashing the loose ball high into his own net under minimal pressure.
That shock goal sparked a resurgence from Northern Ireland and they had a couple of good opportunities to score late on through Stuart Dallas' low volley before George Saville missed a gilt-edged chance from inside the six-yard box. In injury time, Soderlund saw a goal questionably ruled out for offside.
In the end, Northern Ireland achieved their mission of finishing second in the group and reaching the play-off stage, however, defeat to Norway opens them up to playing a seeded nation which could be Italy or Portugal.
The big hope of Norwegian football, 19-year-old playmaker Sander Berge ran the show for his side, delivering an authoritative display that belied his years.
An imposing presence in midfield, Berge's touch and vision was a key factor in Norway's dominant performance and it will be interesting to see how long his current club Genk can hang onto him based on this performance.
Michael O'Neill: "I thought it [Scotland's draw against Slovenia] relieved a bit of the tension in the situation. At times we played some good football, at other times, we were off it a little bit but I think that's understandable. The lads that were on a booking got through the game without picking anything else up which is a positive for us.
"It's disappointing for us to lose the game and the nature of the goal is unlucky but the main thing was to make sure we were in the play-offs and that was confirmed to us before we took to the field tonight.
"You're always disappointed when you lose the game and it would've been nice to get another clean sheet but the main thing was to get through unscathed without any suspensions which we managed to do and we can look forward to a massive game in November now.
"We can't be greedy let's be honest [about potentially being unseeded] we could face some great teams in the play-off and we'll just have to deal with that. You may equally play a very good team if you were seeded as well. It's unlikely that we will be seeded now but we still have the opportunity to go to Russia."
Northern Ireland will have to wait until October 17 to discover which nation they will face in the play-off for the World Cup in Russia but they could be drawn against Italy if they are in the unseeded side of the draw.
