Northern Ireland's performance deserved more than the 2-0 success against Malta, says U21 boss Tommy Wright
Northern Ireland U21s manager Tommy Wright was pleased with his side’s win against Malta – although believes the performance deserved more than the 2-0 scoreline.
First half goals from Makenzie Kirk and captain Michael Forbes were enough to give them the three points.
Kirk got the ball rolling with six minutes on the clock when he latched onto a long pass forward from Jonny Russell and nodded the ball past the hesitant keeper.
The second arrived on 33 minutes as Liam McStravick whipped a corner into the danger zone and it was met superbly by captain Forbes who hammered the ball into the top corner.
Chances were created by the hosts thereafter but they played out a 2-0 success to add to the point they already secured away at Georgia last month.
"We knew going into the game that we'd be favourites and we asked for a fast start and we got it,” Wright told Northern Ireland’s social media platforms.
"It was a really good opportunist goal from Mackenzie who was excellent all night and we controlled the whole game.
"A goal from a set-piece which is always pleasing when you work on them. A good delivery from Liam McStravick and Michael Forbes puts in a striker's finish for a centre-half.
"Really pleased and if anything our pressing was really good, especially in the first-half, as we knew they wanted to try and play out from the back and we knew we could hunt them down and get opportunities.
"I'm happy with the clean sheet, I'm happy with the two goals but we'd have liked more goals as the performance deserved that.”
Next up for Wright’s side in the qualifiers is a home game against Germany on Tuesday.
Whilst he is anticipating a tough encounter against the top seeds in the group, Wright has full belief that his players can get a result.
He stated: "It's going to be a great experience for our players.
"We want to win games and we've had a great start to the campaign and nobody expected us to get a point away at Georgia, so it is important that we put on a performance against Germany.
"We know it's going to be a totally different game for us but we've been here before and got positive results against the likes of England.”