Michael O’Neill urges Northern Ireland to maintain standards after fine display
The IndependentSign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Michael O’Neill wants Northern Ireland’s first-half performance against Belarus on Saturday night to serve as a blueprint going forward – even if they did not get their rewards in a goalless Nations League draw in Hungary. As this young Northern Ireland team continues to develop, O’Neill sees long-term progress even if the results are not always there in the short term. We want to play with speed but play with composure as well, so we’ll take a lot of positives from how we played, although obviously we’re disappointed we didn’t score.” The average age of Northern Ireland’s starting XI fell even further with 19-year-old Pierce Charles, brother of Shea, getting the nod in goal in the absence of injured regular Bailey Peacock-Farrell. “I’ll be honest that it was in my head regardless of Bailey’s situation because I felt the game would give us an opportunity to see Pierce play,” he said.