Ballard blow and Windsor return: Talking points as Northern Ireland face Hungary
After Friday’s win in Georgia, Northern Ireland continue their Nations League campaign at home to Hungary on Monday.
Here, the Press Association looks at the key talking points ahead of the match.
Ballard blow
The one major disappointment to come out of Friday’s 1-0 win in Tbilisi was the loss of key defender Dan Ballard, who will miss the rest of this window with a hamstring injury suffered in stoppage time. Michael O’Neill has some depth in his squad after the emergence of Tom Atcheson, who made his first competitive appearance when he started against Georgia, while Ruairi McConville is another option to start. The experienced Paddy McNair replaced Ballard for the final moments of Friday’s match, although he is short of match fitness after an injury-hit start to the season with Hull.
Platform
It may have taken a last-gasp goal from Shea Charles, plus a penalty save from his brother Pierce, but Northern Ireland could not have asked for a better result on their return to the second tier of the Nations League as they recorded their first away win in the competition. That must now serve as a platform for O’Neill’s men to build on in the group, where Northern Ireland’s home form was always likely to be their best hope of fighting for a top-two finish.
Windsor return
This is Northern Ireland’s first match in Belfast since a 1-0 win over Luxembourg in November. The chance to play in front of the Windsor Park fans will be savoured by the players, but they will also want to make sure the stadium remains a fortress. Northern Ireland have won seven of their last nine games at home, with the only defeat the narrow 1-0 reverse to Germany in World Cup qualifying last October.
Long trip
Starting the campaign in Tbilisi meant Northern Ireland faced their longest trip first – a 5,000-mile return journey to the Georgian capital. Tbilisi is three hours ahead of the UK, but the Northern Ireland players and staff kept themselves on UK time to try to minimise the disruption, and travelled back overnight after Friday’s match to have a recovery day on Saturday. All of that will hopefully have minimised fatigue but the true test will come in Monday night’s match.
Szoboszlai challenge
Northern Ireland did a good job of marshalling Georgia’s Paris St Germain superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on Friday, particularly when he roamed around the pitch in the first half before becoming a more orthodox winger in the second. Tonight they will be facing more world class opposition in Hungary captain and Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
The 25-year-old is one of the best midfielders in the world, although he has faced question marks over his form in recent times as he adjusts to life under Andoni Iraola at Anfield.