Danes end Northern Ireland’s European Under-21 Championship qualifying hopes

Andreas Olsen scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the second half to send Northern Ireland to a third defeat in Group H, which ends their hopes of reaching next year’s finals.

Andy Crosby’s side drop to fifth in the table, while Denmark remain top having taken 19 points from seven matches.

Home goalkeeper Conor Hazard made several fine saves to prevent the Danes from securing a wider margin of victory.

The hosts, who chalked up their first win of the campaign by winning 2-0 in Malta on Friday, went closest to scoring through Shayne Lavery, who fired over from a tight angle.

Linfield striker Lavery had started the game less than 24 hours after stepping off the bench in the senior side’s 5-1 home Nations League defeat to Norway.

Northern Ireland Under-21s play their next qualifying matches in October at home against Finland and Ukraine.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Irish and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you,

Alistair Bushe

Editor