World Cup 2018: Northern Ireland 4-0 San Marino

Jamie Ward of Northern Ireland and San Marino's Alessandro Della Valle battle for the ball at Windsor Park — Northern Ireland clinched victory over San Marino who have never won a competitive match

Kyle Lafferty scored two late goals as Northern Ireland finished strongly to complete their expected win over San Marino at Windsor Park.

Steven Davis gave Michael O'Neill's men the lead with a 26th-minute penalty.

San Marino's Mirko Palazzi was sent off early in the second half but Northern Ireland left it until the final 12 minutes to make sure of the victory.

Lafferty flicked in number two, with Ward blasting in an 86th-minute third before Lafferty netted again.

Relive all the action from Northern Ireland v San Marino

The win puts Northern Ireland, who forced 11 saves from keeper Aldo Simoncini with their 35 shots, in third place in World Cup Qualifying Group C on four points.

They sit behind Germany and Azerbaijan, who are both on the maximum six points after their two games.

There was a mood of celebration before the match as the National Stadium in Belfast was officially reopened by Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

A pre-match parade marked the redeveloped ground's completion, with the 18,234 crowd applauding the likes of world champion boxer Carl Frampton on a 'lap of legends'.

But for long periods Northern Ireland's performance struggled to live up to the occasion in a match they were expected to win comfortably.

True, an NI victory looked assured once Davis had netted from the spot, but O'Neill's men should have added more goals before out-of-favour Norwich striker Lafferty and Burton's on-loan Ward made sure of the victory.

Kyle Lafferty scored twice after coming on as a substitute for Northern Ireland

The hosts were expected to cruise to a comfortable victory over a country who have never won a competitive match, conceded 54 goals in their last World Cup qualifying campaign and are ranked more than 170 places below the men in green in the Fifa rankings.

Memories of the last World Cup campaign when Northern Ireland lost away to Azerbaijan, picked up one point from two matches with Luxembourg and were defeated at home to Israel were largely banished by a successful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, but nerves lingered as the hosts struggled to break down their opponents.

Davis and Ward were among those to pass up first-half chances, while Adolfo Hirsch went close for the visitors when he shot over from the edge of the box.

Northern Ireland had failed to score in five of their last six games and their frustration grew in the second half as they passed up a series of opportunities.

Niall McGinn and Magennis were denied by the visiting goalkeeper in the second half while Davis was among those to shoot wide of the target.

Lafferty's strike 11 minutes from time eased Northern Ireland nerves, then Ward added the third with five minutes remaining.

Ferguson crossed from the left and Lafferty headed into the path of Ward, who smashed home from close range.

Lafferty's late goal ensured a final scoreline which more accurately reflected their dominance and banished memories of their earlier profligacy in front of goal.

Lafferty stakes recall claim

It was Lafferty, hero of the successful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, who proved the inspiration for giving the scoreline a more comfortable look.

The 29-year-old, who has been left on the sidelines for much of this season, belied his lack of game time for Norwich by chipping in with those two late goals, taking his overall international tally to 19.

Lafferty grabbed his first by turning the ball into the net from close range after meeting Shane Ferguson's cross and then tapped home Davis' ball with the final kick of the game.

The striker's double will give O'Neill something to think about for Tuesday's trip to face Germany, the NI boss having opted to go with Charlton Athletic frontman Josh Magennis from the start against San Marino.

Man of the match

Steven Davis was the outstanding performer for Northern Ireland, dominating affairs from midfield and showing relentless energy in driving his team-mates forward and inspiring them to victory

The facts you need to know

Kyle Lafferty has scored nine times in his last 11 qualifiers for Northern Ireland.
Steven Davis' converted spot-kick was the first penalty Northern Ireland have scored in a qualifier since September 2007 (David Healy v Iceland).
San Marino have picked up a red card in each of their opening two World Cup 2018 qualifiers.
Northern Ireland have won all three of their games against San Marino, scoring 11 times without conceding.
San Marino are still awaiting their first ever World Cup qualifying win (D2 L56).

What next?

Northern Ireland now turn their thoughts to Tuesday's Group C qualifier against Germany in Hanover and what a contrast that promises to be compared to this match.

San Marino and the Germans are separated by 198 places in the Fifa world rankings, with the former having never won a competitive game and the latter losing just two of 85 World Cup qualifiers in their history.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Northern Ireland

Formation 4-4-1-1

1McGovern
2McLaughlinSubstituted forMcNairat 77'minutes
4McAuley
5Evans
3Ferguson
7McGinn
8Davis
16Norwood
14DallasSubstituted forWashingtonat 65'minutes
19Ward
21MagennisSubstituted forLaffertyat 73'minutes

Substitutes

6Hodson
9Paton
10Lafferty
11Washington
12Mannus
13Evans
15McGivern
17McNair
18Hughes
20Lund
22Flanagan
23Carson

San Marino

Formation 5-4-1

1Simoncini
3BerardiBooked at 50mins
5VitaioliBooked at 40mins
6Simoncini
13Della Valle
21PalazziBooked at 49mins
8HirschSubstituted forCesariniat 56'minutes
4CoppiniSubstituted forGolinucciat 71'minutes
20Tosi
7VitaioliBooked at 52mins
9StefanelliSubstituted forZafferaniat 87'minutes

Substitutes

2Valentini
10Selva
11Golinucci
12Manzaroli
14Zafferani
15Censoni
16Rinaldi
17Bianchi
18Berretti
19Cesarini
22Mazza
23Benedettini

Referee:: Istvan Kovacs
Attendance:: 18,234

Match Stats

Home TeamNorthern IrelandAway TeamSan Marino

Possession: Home74%; Away26%

Shots: Home35; Away3

Shots on Target: Home15; Away0

Corners: Home7; Away2

Fouls: Home21; Away8

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Northern Ireland 4, San Marino 0.
90'+4'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Northern Ireland 4, San Marino 0.

90'+4'
Goal!
Goal! Northern Ireland 4, San Marino 0. Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Steven Davis.
90'+2'
Post update
Foul by Jamie Ward (Northern Ireland).
90'+2'
Post update
Alessandro Della Valle (San Marino) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90'
Post update
Attempt missed. Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Kyle Lafferty.
89'
Post update
Foul by Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland).
89'
Post update
Alessandro Della Valle (San Marino) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
88'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jamie Ward with a cross.
88'
Post update
Attempt saved. Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jamie Ward with a cross.
87'
Substitution
Substitution, San Marino. Tommaso Zafferani replaces Mattia Stefanelli.
87'
Post update
Attempt missed. Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Steven Davis with a cross.
85'
Goal!
Goal! Northern Ireland 3, San Marino 0. Jamie Ward (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Kyle Lafferty.
85'
Post update
Attempt missed. Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Shane Ferguson with a cross.
85'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Oliver Norwood (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Conor Washington.
84'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Niall McGinn (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jonny Evans with a through ball.
83'
Post update
Attempt missed. Jamie Ward (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Paddy McNair.
82'
Post update
Attempt missed. Jamie Ward (Northern Ireland) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Niall McGinn with a cross.
80'
Post update
Foul by Kyle Lafferty (Northern Ireland).
80'
Post update
Fabio Vitaioli (San Marino) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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17 comments

Comment posted by MX, at 08:21 9 Oct 2016
You can only beat who is in front of you. 3 points in the bag. Well done. Stadium looking great.
Comment posted by PL, at 09:42 9 Oct 2016
Actually the San Marino keeper look decent. Could have been a lot more
Comment posted by Its all a mess, at 03:54 9 Oct 2016
Might as well have been playing Ards reserves...
Comment posted by U15699726, at 11:34 9 Oct 2016
@4 is that why England could only win 2-0 against weak opposition, dont forget Italy could only beat San Marino 1-0.
Comment posted by jjh87, at 10:29 9 Oct 2016
It's great to see a packed house for NI and the passion which they always have for their team
Comment posted by Disenchanted, at 08:03 9 Oct 2016
well done NI, the newly renovated ground looks great and was long overdue!
Comment posted by comeontheglens, at 23:54 8 Oct 2016
Bit frustrating for 75 mins but will take 4-0. Davis was awesome as always
Comment posted by Ellie , at 13:58 9 Oct 2016
It is what it is. NI have a good team, hard to beat but lacking a really top striker, to get 4 even against San Marino is noteworthy. Would England have got more than 4 v San Marino? Probably not. There are problems for all of the home nations but given England is 10 times larger in terms of population and a million times wealthier in terms of its football league the others have less to fret about
Comment posted by U16605314, at 12:24 9 Oct 2016
San who?
Comment posted by evertonmike, at 08:31 9 Oct 2016
MX, I think you'll see Scotland can't! Happy days, see you in Russia with England
Comment posted by Joseph, at 00:54 9 Oct 2016
4-0 is not bad but it's to be expected against such weak opposition. Everyone will beat them so goal difference could be important. Hope the others don't beat them 8-0
Comment posted by maxmerit, at 08:51 9 Oct 2016
It's a really small ground, Barnsley have a bigger stadium than that.
Comment posted by BarmyArmy, at 06:44 9 Oct 2016
35 shots, 4 goals?

I take it the NI attackers were playing blindfolded then?
Comment posted by steve_harmisons_middle_finger, at 23:32 8 Oct 2016
England, that's how you dispatch a minnow.
Comment posted by M5J29, at 11:42 9 Oct 2016
Well done NI. We've got Slovakia next I bet they'll be shakin' in there boots after seeing us annihilate Malta 2-0 !!
Comment posted by You Stupid Boy, at 08:17 9 Oct 2016
Seven comments so far? This is why we DON'T need HYS after every match - especially this one. Not that interesting.
Comment posted by Baron_Blues_Legend_OBE, at 23:52 8 Oct 2016
No Wayne Rooney in the northern Ireland team to pass sideways at every attack - well done to them.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Netherlands	2	1	1	0	5	2	3	4
2	France	2	1	1	0	4	1	3	4
3	Sweden	2	1	1	0	2	1	1	4
4	Bulgaria	2	1	0	1	5	7	-2	3
5	Belarus	2	0	1	1	1	4	-3	1
6	Luxembourg	2	0	0	2	3	5	-2	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Switzerland	2	2	0	0	5	2	3	6
2	Faroe Islands	2	1	1	0	2	0	2	4
3	Portugal	2	1	0	1	6	2	4	3
4	Latvia	2	1	0	1	1	2	-1	3
5	Hungary	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
6	Andorra	2	0	0	2	0	7	-7	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Wales	2	1	1	0	6	2	4	4
2	Serbia	2	1	1	0	5	2	3	4
3	Austria	2	1	1	0	4	3	1	4
4	R. of Ireland	2	1	1	0	3	2	1	4
5	Georgia	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0
6	Moldova	2	0	0	2	0	7	-7	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Montenegro	2	1	1	0	6	1	5	4
2	Romania	2	1	1	0	6	1	5	4
3	Poland	2	1	1	0	5	4	1	4
4	Denmark	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	3
5	Kazakhstan	2	0	1	1	2	7	-5	1
6	Armenia	2	0	0	2	0	6	-6	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	England	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	6
2	Scotland	2	1	1	0	6	2	4	4
3	Slovenia	2	1	1	0	3	2	1	4
4	Lithuania	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2
5	Slovakia	2	0	0	2	0	2	-2	0
6	Malta	2	0	0	2	1	7	-6	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Germany	2	2	0	0	6	0	6	6
2	Azerbaijan	2	2	0	0	2	0	2	6
3	Northern Ireland	2	1	1	0	4	0	4	4
4	Czech Rep	2	0	1	1	0	3	-3	1
5	Norway	2	0	0	2	0	4	-4	0
6	San Marino	2	0	0	2	0	5	-5	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Albania	2	2	0	0	4	1	3	6
2	Spain	2	1	1	0	9	1	8	4
3	Italy	2	1	1	0	4	2	2	4
4	Israel	2	1	0	1	3	4	-1	3
5	North Macedonia	2	0	0	2	2	4	-2	0
6	Liechtenstein	2	0	0	2	0	10	-10	0

	Team	P	W	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Belgium	2	2	0	7	0	7	6
2	Greece	2	2	0	6	1	5	6
3	Bos-Herze	2	1	1	5	4	1	3
4	Estonia	2	1	1	4	5	-1	3
5	Cyprus	2	0	2	0	5	-5	0
6	Gibraltar	2	0	2	1	8	-7	0

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Croatia	2	1	1	0	7	1	6	4
2	Iceland	2	1	1	0	4	3	1	4
3	Ukraine	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2
4	Turkey	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2
5	Finland	2	0	1	1	3	4	-1	1
6	Kosovo	2	0	1	1	1	7	-6	1

Lafferty stakes recall claim

Man of the match

The facts you need to know

What next?

Line-ups

Northern Ireland

Substitutes

San Marino

Substitutes

Match Stats

Live Text

Comments

Join the conversation

Comment posted by MX, at 08:21 9 Oct 2016MX

Comment posted by PL, at 09:42 9 Oct 2016PL

Comment posted by Its all a mess, at 03:54 9 Oct 2016Its all a mess

Comment posted by U15699726, at 11:34 9 Oct 2016U15699726

Comment posted by jjh87, at 10:29 9 Oct 2016jjh87

Comment posted by Disenchanted, at 08:03 9 Oct 2016Disenchanted

Comment posted by comeontheglens, at 23:54 8 Oct 2016comeontheglens

Comment posted by Ellie , at 13:58 9 Oct 2016Ellie

Comment posted by U16605314, at 12:24 9 Oct 2016U16605314

Comment posted by evertonmike, at 08:31 9 Oct 2016evertonmike

Comment posted by Joseph, at 00:54 9 Oct 2016Joseph

Comment posted by maxmerit, at 08:51 9 Oct 2016maxmerit

Comment posted by BarmyArmy, at 06:44 9 Oct 2016BarmyArmy

Comment posted by steve_harmisons_middle_finger, at 23:32 8 Oct 2016steve_harmisons_middle_finger

Comment posted by M5J29, at 11:42 9 Oct 2016M5J29

Comment posted by You Stupid Boy, at 08:17 9 Oct 2016You Stupid Boy

Comment posted by Baron_Blues_Legend_OBE, at 23:52 8 Oct 2016Baron_Blues_Legend_OBE

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Saturday 8th October 2016

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Comment posted by MX, at 08:21 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by PL, at 09:42 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by Its all a mess, at 03:54 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by U15699726, at 11:34 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by jjh87, at 10:29 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by Disenchanted, at 08:03 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by comeontheglens, at 23:54 8 Oct 2016

Comment posted by Ellie , at 13:58 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by U16605314, at 12:24 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by evertonmike, at 08:31 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by Joseph, at 00:54 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by maxmerit, at 08:51 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by BarmyArmy, at 06:44 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by steve_harmisons_middle_finger, at 23:32 8 Oct 2016

Comment posted by M5J29, at 11:42 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by You Stupid Boy, at 08:17 9 Oct 2016

Comment posted by Baron_Blues_Legend_OBE, at 23:52 8 Oct 2016