Kyle Lafferty credited Michael O’Neill with salvaging his career before Hungary’s visit to an expectant Belfast. He repaid the debt by salvaging Northern Ireland’s chances of qualifying for their first tournament in 30 years just as expectations were crumbling into despair.
O’Neill’s team missed the chance to secure a place at their first European Championships and will have three players suspended – including their leading goalscorer – when Greece visit next month should Chris Baird’s draconian red card stand. Ultimately those setbacks barely punctured the relief.
Northern Ireland were a man down and a goal down – courtesy of a dreadful goalkeeping error by Michael McGovern – when Lafferty plundered his seventh goal in eight games in stoppage time. From needing to win their final two matches, Northern Ireland now require two points to guarantee their place at Euro 2016, thanks to a superior head-to-head record against the Hungarians. His team needed “the Kyle Lafferty with the head screwed on, not the clown,” said the man himself before kick off. Mercifully for O’Neill the Norwich City striker can still deliver the last laugh.
“We were taking him off at 0-0. He was really struggling fitness-wise having not even played in pre-season but then the goal went in and we had to get two up top,” said the Northern Ireland manager. “Taking Kyle off would have been taking our talisman off and I didn’t want to give the opposition manager that hope or satisfaction.”
Lafferty, the right-back Conor McLaughlin and Baird will all be suspended against Greece but this felt like redemption to Northern Ireland, not a squandered opportunity. The home side controlled the majority of the contest and dominated possession without seriously troubling the 39-year-old former Crystal Palace goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly until the closing seconds.
Bernd Storck, the Hungary coach, responded to his side’s nervous first-half display by switching formations and Zsolt Kalmar to the left of a 4-2-3-1. Improvement was immediate with Kalmar almost single-handedly responsible for increasing the frequency and quality of crosses. Not that their centre-forward, Adam Szalai, was able to keep his headers on target. Zoltan Gera posed a greater threat to McGovern’s goal with an angled drive from 25 yards that flashed narrowly wide of the far post.
The hosts struggled to turn crosses into chances, although a well-organised Hungarian back-line was mainly responsible for keeping Lafferty quiet. Until stoppage time, that is. Incident had been in short supply in both areas until the lapse that almost ruined Northern Ireland’s night, as McGovern handed the defender Richard Guzmics a 74th-minute opener.
The Hungary captain, Balazs Dzsudzsak drilled a free-kick into a crowded area after his opposite number, Steven Davis, was adjudged to have fouled the substitute Tamas Priskin near the touchline. McGovern came to collect and got both hands to the ball but inexplicably let it slip through his grasp. Guzmics was left with the simple task of converting from two yards out as the Hamilton Academical keeper dropped to his knees in despair.
Worse followed for Northern Ireland when Baird was sent off for two bookable offences that occurred in the same passage of play. The Derby County midfielder, along with everyone else inside Windsor Park, was stunned when the Turkish referee, Cuneyt Cakir, responded to his foul on Dzsudzsak by producing two yellow cards and a red in rapid succession. The first yellow card was for another foul seconds earlier, after which the referee had waved play on, and, following prolonged protest and no little confusion, Baird eventually walked. Gareth McAuley also indulged in theatrics in an attempt to have Priskin sent off – to no avail – as the contest appeared to unravel for O’Neill’s team.
“I have to say in my whole time in football I’ve not seen a player booked twice in that situation,” said O’Neill. “The referee said the first yellow was for an incident that happened higher up the pitch. There was no doubt about the second booking but, if Chris had known he was booked or going to be booked for that, there is no way he would have made the second foul. It was a really unusual situation, a very harsh decision, and we will see if we can appeal. Chris apologised to the lads in the dressing room. It was a really bizarre decision that could have cost us the chance to qualify but it is testament to the players’ character how they responded.”
The response was emphatic. With seconds remaining and misery setting over Windsor, Kiraly pushed away a thunderous drive from the substitute Niall McGinn, straight to the one man he would have wished to avoid. From three yards out Lafferty found the roof of the net and Windsor erupted. McGovern sank to his knees once more, only this time out of pure unadulterated relief.
