Steven Davis missed a first-half penalty as Northern Ireland’s faint automatic qualification hopes ended with a 0-0 draw against Holland in what stands to be Michael O’Neill’s final home game in charge. Captain Davis, making his 116th appearance to overtake David Beckham as the UK’s most capped midfielder, blazed badly over the crossbar in the 32nd minute, and Northern Ireland’s failure to win ended any slim hopes they had of securing automatic qualification for Euro 2020. A pre-match video celebration of his achievements helped build the atmosphere, positively rocking come kick-off, and it was against that backdrop that Northern Ireland began unsettling Holland straight away. If Ronald Koeman felt Northern Ireland’s tactics in the reverse fixture last month were “outrageous” and “terrible to watch”, it is unlikely he was much keener on the attacking intent displayed early on. With half an hour gone, Northern Ireland were gifted a penalty when Joel Veltman handled McNair’s cross under Saville.

Source: Irish Examiner November 16, 2019 21:56 UTC