Northern Ireland’s first Nations League win eases relegation fears, but survival is not guaranteed

Northern Ireland‘s first Nations League win eased the pressure on manager Ian Baraclough but they still face the very real prospect of relegation to League D on Tuesday.

Baraclough side’s play Greece in Athens on Tuesday and must match or better Cyprus’s result in Kosovo after the Cypriots stunned group leaders Greece with a 1-0 win in Larnaca on Saturday.

Gavin Whyte equalised for Northern Ireland and Josh Magennis’s 93rd-minute header gave them a 2-1 victory in front of 17,000 in Belfast.

Josh Magennis scored Northern Ireland’s late winner in the Nations League match with Kosovo

Ireland boss Ian Baraclough admitted his side are ‘not the finished article’ and ‘still building’

Baraclough said: ‘Every win means something, but a Nations League win, the first one we’ve managed, I’m really pleased with that. 

‘It gives us a platform to build on. We know we’re not the finished article but we are still building, trying to bring in young players. Those players create a competitive squad.’

If Northern Ireland are relegated their next campaign will see them facing the likes of San Marino, Andorra and Liechtenstein.

Substitute Gavin Whyte scored Northern Ireland’s equaliser with less than ten minutes to play

Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell has been told he must win his place back at club level

Baraclough suggested goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell may need to leave Burnley in January to keep his place. 

He has been Northern Ireland’s No 1 since 2018 and a string of crucial saves kept his side in the match but at club level he is behind Aro Muric, who was in goal at the other end for Kosovo.

With Conor Hazard and Luke Southwood in the frame to take over, Baraclough admitted: ‘He knows he’s got competition. If the next (international) window is March, he’s got six months to get in the team or in January move on.’