By Alex Mills
GIANT striker Kyle Lafferty admits he is now benefiting from his move to FC Sion.
The 25-year-old grabbed Northern Ireland’s second goal in Wednesday night’s international friendly against Finland at Windsor Park.
Lafferty moved to Switzerland following the financial collapse of Glasgow giants Rangers over the summer.
“I wanted to go outside the UK to test myself,” he said. “Sion gave me a chance to do that.
“Hopefully, it will make be a better player. It has been a brilliant move for me so far. I love Switzerland – everything is so calm.
“I have to work hard. Basically, we work on keeping the ball. So, it’s going to make me a better player. I’ll benefit technically. I’m really enjoying it.”
It was Lafferty’s first appearance in a Northern Ireland shirt for 10 months – and he was thrilled go get on the score sheet.
“It was a relief after not having played for so long,” he added. “Dixie (Dean Shiels) and I hit off right away up front. He’s a smashing player. That’s why Rangers busted a gut to sign him.
“Hopefully, we both did enough to get a starting slot against Russia in Moscow. We formed an instant understanding. Michael (O’Neill) had a word with us before the game. He said if one of us ‘dropped off’, the other should be in the box. “As hit happened, Dixie dropped off and I managed to get into the box. It was good to come back with a goal.
“The only disappointment was we didn’t hold on to the lead. When you score three goals at Windsor Park, you expect to win. We learned that we must dig deep to see off teams.”
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