Northern Ireland - Faroe Islands 2-0 (2-0)
1-0 06' Gareth McAuley
2-0 20' Kyle Lafferty
Dismal Faroese 1st half display creamed with a missed penalty sees Northern Ireland win 2-0
Having threatened twice before on set pieces, Northern Ireland took the lead from a corner after five minutes where Chris Beard flicked the ball on to the far post where defender Gareth McAuley slotted home from close range.
Northern Ireland continued to threaten against a lackluster Faroese team that had not enter the pitch to fight tonight.
It went wrong again in the 20th minute when a cross from the left was sent into the Faroese penalty area where an unmarked Kyle Lafferty steered in from close range.
It could have been 3-0 a couple of minutes later when the Faroes gave the ball away in defense and a cross found the forehead of unmarked Lafferty, but only a fantastic save from Gunnar Nielsen kept the score-line respectable.
The first half continued as one way traffic, but after 35 minutes the Faroes earned a penalty when Jóan Símun Edmundsson was dragged down, but the Faroese team’s problem of converting from the penalty spot continued as Fróði Benjaminsen's effort was parried onto the post by Roy Carroll.
The second half was very different, but whether it was because the Faroese team improved much or Northern Ireland started preserving energy for their game on Tuesday away to Greece, shall be unsaid, but Northern Ireland had only one real opportunity. The Faroe Islands worked harder, but failed to create any scoring opportunity however.
The Faroe Islands take on Hungary on Tuesday 14 October.