Northern Ireland U17s were ‘exceptional’ to secure Italy draw, praises captain Blaine McClure

Italy Under-17s 0 Northern Ireland Under-17s 0

The Northern Ireland Under-17s team that drew 0-0 with Italy

Northern Ireland Under-17s captain Blaine McClure praised an “exceptional” performance from his team-mates as they secured an historic 0-0 draw against Italy in Santarcangelo di Romagna.

Despite the lack of goals, it was an outstanding display from Northern Ireland who matched their hosts in every facet of the game and deserved a memorable point at the Stadio Valentino Mazzola.

The result means that Northern Ireland’s hopes of reaching the elite qualifying round have been handed a significant boost as, while they are more than likely to finish third in the group, a win over San Marino in their final group game on Tuesday will see them finish as one of the best third-placed teams that also progress.

And after a strong performance in Italy that will fill the group with confidence, skipper McClure was full of praise for his team’s ability to dig deep and battle for each other.

“It was a great result today, to come to their place and get a very, very good result,” beamed the Rangers teen.

"We need to bring that into the next game. The boys were exceptional, we fought for each other and fought the bit out. Hopefully we can take that into our next game.”

Italy had the majority of the chances in the early going as Northern Ireland goalkeeper Will Murdock needed to make a big save to deny Matteo Cocchi and Francesco Camarda in quick succession, before Camarda was once again thwarted.

It took until after the half-hour mark for Callum Moreland to test Massimo Pessina, but the goalkeeper was being helped out by a strong defence, with Dylan Stitt’s shot blocked by Giorgio Vezzosi.

Callum Leacock was the first to test Pessina