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Tri Hume’s first northern ireland The goal helped them win 2-0 slovakia Which keeps their World Cup qualifying campaign on track.
Patrik Hrosowski’s 18th-minute own goal got Northern Ireland off to a strong start, but after missing two great chances to double their lead either side of the break, they faced a few nervous moments before Hume lifted the ball past the stranded player. Martin Dubravka 10 minutes left to go.
Michael O’Neill refused to call it an inevitable win, but the reality was that they needed all three points to keep pace in a tight group that also included Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Germany Everyone has six points from three matches.
It was reward for a strong performance, especially in the first half, but at the heart of it was the man, the captain connor bradleyPicked up a cheap late yellow card that will rule him out of Monday’s trip to Germany.
Bradley looked like a man on a mission from the start as Northern Ireland played with energy and desire and it was the Liverpool man who stepped up for the opening goal.
He picked out Ethan Galbraith inside the box, and the Swansea midfielder pulled in a low cross which the helpless Hrosowski turned into his own net.
Of Northern Ireland’s five goals in the six matches against Slovakia so far, three have been own goals.
With half an hour gone, Galbraith picked the pocket of Ondrej Duda and although he could not find Jamie Reid’s run, the ball passed to Justin Devaney, whose strike was pushed wide of the post by Burnley’s Dubravka.
In the 35th minute, Bradley stepped forward again and passed the ball to Shea Charles. His path to his goal was blocked but he turned to Reid in front of the goal. Stretching, the Stevenage man could only muster a brilliant chance.
Bradley looked equally keen at the start of the second half, turning to the edge of the box and sending a shot within seconds of the restart, then curling a shot from the edge of the box.
Northern Ireland wanted a penalty in the 57th minute when Shea Charles ran into the Slovakian sandwich but the appeal was rejected.
Seconds later the ball was in Slovakia’s net, but Reed was offside as he got a toe on Charles’s shot, which looked like it was heading towards goal.
It was a second clear chance for Northern Ireland to find some respite in a fast-paced game, with Daniel Ballard receiving a yellow card as a result of the rising temperatures.
The hosts lost control and should have conceded the lead in the 65th minute as Middlesbrough forward David Strelec got past Paddy McNair, but the ball went wide.
There was another extremely frustrating moment for Northern Ireland in the 76th minute when Bradley clashed with Lucas Harslin on the wing to bring about a booking, ruling him out of Monday’s clash with Germany.
But few were concerned when four minutes later Dubravka, who had been unable to control his own zone all night, punched the ball weakly and the ball fell to Hume and lifted it back over him and into the unguarded net.