Northern Ireland’s bright spark Conor McMenamin has mixed emotions after frustrating loss to Slovenia
Conor McMenamin gave a good account of himself during Northern Ireland's match with Slovenia
Northern Ireland's Conor McMenamin in a battle with Slovenia's Erik Janza
Northern Ireland's Conor McMenamin was a threat against Slovenia
It tells you how far Conor McMenamin has come that he will be one of the first names on Michael O’Neill’s team sheet for Sunday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Kazakhstan.
The 28-year-old St Mirren winger only made his international debut in June last year and has just seven caps to date but his exhilarating performance against Slovenia on Thursday night shows how valuable he has become to Northern Ireland in a short space of time.
In Ljubljana, O’Neill’s men lost 4-2 conceding soft goals to cost them the game and any chance of going to the Euro finals in Germany next year but they discovered that McMenamin is now at ease with this level of football and will be one of the key figures moving forward if the manager is to bring the success to the country that he enjoyed when he was in charge first time around.
It was while McMenamin was with Glentoran that he made his international bow. He impressed in those early appearances with his speed and skill but understandably there was a sense when he joined up with the squad that he was anxious to prove he belonged.
He belongs alright. Just ask his team-mates.
Captain Jonny Evans waxed lyrical about the former Linfield and Cliftonville ace after the Slovenian game in which McMenamin gave his marker the runaround with a shimmy here, a nutmeg there and a burning desire to put the ball in the danger area helping set up Northern Ireland’s first goal from Isaac Price.
The Buddies ace also carved out other opportunities and tested Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan
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