Video: Niall McGinn hopes his goal can be a lucky omen again

The Aberdeen man scored against Hungary in the first game of the 2016 European Championship qualifying campaign.

And he repeated the feat in Thursday night’s EURO 2020 opener at home to Estonia.

It was McGinn’s first goal for his country at Windsor Park and he is hoping it can help fire them to another major tournament.

“I scored the first goal against Hungary in the last EURO campaign, if it goes like that again and we get to another major tournament then I’d definitely take that,” he said.

“The most important thing was getting the win.

“On a personal note though I’m delighted to score my first goal at Windsor Park, all my goals so far have come away from home. I felt good coming into the game. I was delighted to get the nod and to get the first goal.

“Being patient was massive tonight. We got the ball wide and created chances.

“Thankfully we got the goal quite early in the second half, and ‘Davo’ has killed it off with the second.

“But I think Bailey needs a big mention for his important save at 1-0. All in all a clean sheet, a 2-0 win and my first goal at Windsor so I’m delighted tonight.”

After the disappointing Nations League campaign McGinn was pleased to see Northern Ireland get back to winning ways again as captain Steven Davis wrapped up the points with a late penalty.

He said: “The performances have always been there and we’ve always stayed positive.

“Against Bosnia and Austria the performances were good against top opposition.

“At home our performances have been good and thankfully tonight we’ve got the win.

“We knew we were probably going to have a bit more possession and create chances, but we also knew that patience was key. It was important to get the first goal and go on and win the game, thankfully we’ve done that.”