“There were good, bad and indifferent” – Baraclough on the Cyprus draw
It was another game to forget as Northern Ireland came to a lackluster 0-0 draw with Cyprus in the Nations League.
So disappointing that some of the 600-strong Green-White Army mocked their side at the final whistle in Larnaca on Sunday afternoon.
This was followed by a dismal 1-0 defeat by Greece at Windsor Park three days earlier in their League C Group 2 opener.
The pressure is mounting on manager Ian Baraclough after just three wins in 18 competitive games since he took charge in 2020.
A Nations League win is still missing from Northern Ireland after nine defeats and three draws, with the Cypriot stalemate coming up against a team 51 places below in the world rankings.
Northern Ireland have two more Nations League games this week, starting against Kosovo on Thursday and again against Cyprus on Sunday in Belfast.
Three former Northern Ireland stars – John O’Neill, Jim Magilton and Warren Feeney – were part of the ` Radio Ulster team covering the game on Sunday and they gave a scathing assessment of the performance.
John O’Neill (defender, 39 caps – 1980-86)
“The best thing that can be said about that is that we didn’t get beaten because Cyprus certainly had the best chances. Ali McCann almost stole it with a few minutes to go but I don’t think we could have done it.” that deserves.
“I think Cyprus are happy with the point. I think we played the wrong side – playing Paddy McNair at right-back, I think he looked completely disinterested and wasn’t his usual self around the park. The substitutions got me confused.
Frustration for Northern Ireland midfielder Ali McCann after missing a late chance against Cyprus
“I just don’t understand why he was, unless he was injured [Barraclough] picked up Shea Charles. Her [Cyprus] Substitutions actually gave them a little boost.
Liam Donnelly came into play but couldn’t keep up with the pace of the game at all. I think the substitutions disrupted the game at a point when we were probably having our best period of the game.
“But it is what it is. We have to go to Kosovo now and I don’t think the team will be looking forward to it to be honest.”
Jim Magilton (midfielder, 52 caps – 1991-2002)
“It was just a poor finish on the part of Northern Ireland. It wasn’t great, honestly it was bad.
“Conor McMenamin did really well when he came on, at least he brought a bit of enthusiasm and pace. He whipped two or three really good balls into the box but there was just a lack of intensity in the whole park from Northern Ireland and on another night they could have been punished.
“You’ve had a full season and you know you have four games ahead of you. You didn’t play particularly well in the first two, so you need to recover physically to move on to the third game. If we don’t beat Cyprus at home then we will. ” are in big trouble.
“Away in Kosovo could be a bit tricky but considering where they are in the Fifa rankings given the quality of players NI have available the lack of quality and intensity would scare me a little.
“Lack of creativity, lack of chances to score, players are in the team to create those chances and we just didn’t do that in the two games.
“One of our most influential central midfield players, if you watch games you can see Paddy McNair running out of midfield and disrupting the opposition and yet he seemed completely disinterested.”
Warren Feeney (forward, 46 caps – 2002-11)
“It was bad. It was a game you had to win and we didn’t win anything. You can’t come out of this game thinking we deserved to win.”
“Cyprus were clearly the better team, if they had a little more quality and discipline we would have lost that game. They had clear chances but we only had one, from a ball into the penalty area.
Cyprus missed two excellent chances in Larnaca to win the game
“I was 100% surprised when Shea Charles walked away. When Liam Donnelly came on I don’t want to be unfair to him but you could tell he was unfamiliar with it.
“He was giving the ball away and at times trying to catch up. I just couldn’t believe Shea was picked up. You can see he’s neat and tidy and he could have been in front of Defender 4. It was confusing, even with Brodie Spencer.
“You put a right foot in a left-back in international football, it was strange because against a better opponent you will keep the boy on the pitch. But yes, there is a problem in the full-back and we touched.” then with Paddy.
“He had a great chance to put the ball in the channel but he did exactly what he did in the first half when he turned, passed the ball back to Jonny Evans and then stood there. You can tell that he’s unfamiliar and that’s what he looks like when he’s not happy with that position.”
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