NI hero Paul Smyth all smiles as he insists his Windsor wizardry is all for his family

Paul Smyth beams with delight after opening the scoring in the Euro 2024 qualifier against San Marino

Northern Ireland forward Paul Smyth carries the ball away from San Marino's Michael Battistini

The Paul Smyth backflip celebration returned to Windsor Park. So, too, his infectious smile, as he produced a superb performance which set Northern Ireland on the path to a much-needed 3-0 victory over San Marino.

Smyth delivered a stunning strike in the fifth minute and, shortly after, crossed for Josh Magennis to kill the game. The QPR winger thought he had scored another cracker in the first-half, only for VAR to intervene and rule it out for offside.

That may have been taken away from the former Linfield hero, but it didn’t dampen his mood.

“To get a goal and assist and have my family, my little man (18-month-old Jack) watching upstairs with my missus, it was a perfect day. I say watching, he was probably up and down the stairs running around going mad!

“He came down to the side of the pitch and I got to show him about the pitch. It was a good moment for me and my family.

“I’m just playing with a smile on my face, enjoying the moments that come along, and this was one of them.

“I scored a goal and got one ruled out by VAR, which I heard was quite tight, so they should have just given me the goal,” added a grinning Smyth, who admitted he was not a fan of VAR.

Smyth wowed the Windsor crowd with his somersault celebration, just as he did in 2018 on his international debut after netting against South Korea in a friendly.

Five years ago, Smyth looked primed for a brilliant Northern Ireland career, but his Man of the Match display versus San Marino was only his sixth cap following on from numbers four and five last month.

“It’s