Michael O’Neill: We need to learn the harsh realities of international football
The Northern Ireland squad during their defeat in Helsinki
Michael O'Neill said his side will learn from defeat to Finland
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill says that his team must learn the harsh lessons of international football after a second half horror show in Helsinki led to a 4-0 battering against Finland.
It was the seventh defeat from nine Euro 2024 qualifiers and the most humiliating of the lot as the Finns ripped the visitors to shreds after the break with O’Neill admitting that the defending was naïve.
Injuries have hit Northern Ireland hard throughout the campaign but even allowing for that results have been a sorry mess with the only points collected coming from two wins over San Marino.
In Helsinki, Group H reached a new horrendous, horrible low.
“The players are disappointed, of course they are, but it is the reality of international football.
“If you are playing your club football in League One or the Championship, you are not going to be punished all the time the same way that we were punished by Finland.
“That is the lesson that they learn, it is about concentration, it is about your discipline as a team,” said O’Neill.
“There is a bit of naivety in our defending as a team. We defended goals three and four in particular badly. The second goal was defended badly both individually and as a team as well.”
O’Neill’s young side actually started encouragingly before it all started to go wrong just before the break when Joel Pohjanpalo netted a penalty after Isaac Price felled Nikolai Alho in the box.
Daniel Hakans doubled the lead shortly after the interval, beating Conor Hazard at the near post having been allowed to skip past four challenges, and then substitutes Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod compounded
Read on belfasttelegraph.co.uk
