Craig Cathcart helped Northern Ireland keep a clean sheet as Michael O’Neill’s men got their Euro 2016 campaign up and running with a historic 2-0 victory over Ukraine this evening.
Following Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Poland and with their final Group C clash against Germany to come on Tuesday, Northern Ireland needed a win in Lyon to realistically keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
The Watford defender went close to breaking the deadlock in the first half when he headed a Jamie Ward corner narrowly over the top.
But the all-important opener arrived four minutes after the restart when Oliver Norwood swung over a fine free-kick from the left and Gareth McAuley headed back across goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov to score.
The players were taken off the pitch for a brief spell in the second half due to a hailstorm, but Northern Ireland made certain of their first ever win at a European Championship finals deep into injury time when Niall McGinn pounced after Pyatov could only block a Stuart Dallas shot back into the penalty area.
The victory leaves McNeill’s men third in Group C ahead of Germany’s game with Poland tonight
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