O'Neill delighted with 'quality' in Slovakia win

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill says his side were "excellent" in their 2-0 win over Slovakia in World Cup qualifying.

Michael O'Neill
Northern Ireland are level with Germany and Slovakia in Group A with six points from their first three games [Getty Images]

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill said his side were "excellent" in their 2-0 win over Slovakia in World Cup qualifying.

An own goal from Patrik Hrosovsky and a fine lob from Trai Hume helped NI move onto six points, which keeps their hopes of qualifying for the tournament in north America alive.

And O'Neill was delighted with his side's display, particularly in the first half that they dominated.

"Right from the first minute the intensity of the play, the quality of the play and not letting the opposition have any opportunity to breathe and play," he told BBC Sport's Gavin Andrews.

"We couldn't have asked for anymore, the preparation of the team was excellent, and I felt we could get a good performance and they delivered."

Captain Bradley 'magnificent'

Conor Bradley
Bradley picked up a yellow card against Slovakia that rules him out of Northern Ireland's game against Germany on Monday [Getty Images]

O'Neill believes the win, which stretches their unbeaten streak at home to seven games, shows the maturity of his young side and how good they can be.

"I think they understand now the levels they can get to, there is still more to go with this group of players," he added.

"Tonight, we showed what we can be like at home, we have shown this before if you look back to the Bulgaria game, but we played a better team tonight and we showed it against a very good team."

Reluctant to single out players given so many performed well, O'Neill did praise captain on the night Conor Bradley for being the catalyst for NI's good play particularly down the right-hand side.

"From the word go he was magnificent, his energy, him and Ethan [Galbraith] on were terrific on that side with their link up and quality," he explained.

"We have so many good young players who love playing together. It is difficult to pick one player, Conor does stand out because he does so many good things, it was good for him to captain the team on a night like this."

The only dampener on a positive night for NI was that Bradley picked up a yellow card that will rule him out of the crucial meeting with Germany in Belfast on Monday.

O'Neill was frustrated by the decision and believes the yellow card was "extremely" harsh.

"I have watched it back and he tries to pull out. The referee, at times, it was good he didn't want to hand out yellow cards but if he was going to give a yellow for that he should have dished out more. Especially for the opposition."

Category: General Sports