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N Ireland stroll to victory
- Updated: October 8, 2016
Northern Ireland marked the opening of the newly-revamped Windsor Park with a comfortable 4-0 win over San Marino on Saturday evening.
Steven Davis dispatched his penalty after Josh Magennis had been bundled to the ground by two defenders, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Substitute Kyle Lafferty grabbed a brace, before his assist helped Jamie Ward smash in a third.
Mirko Palazzi was shown two yellow cards either side of the break for needless challenges to make life harder for the minnows as Northern Ireland went third on four points in Group C.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino officially opened the new national stadium and it was rocking well before the kick-off, as the home crowd belted out Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit ‘Sweet Caroline’ to welcome the sides onto the field. The likes of world champion boxer Carl Frampton and golf superstar Rory McIlroy performed a ‘lap of legends’ to the 18,234 fans in attendance.
The theme of the game became abundantly clear from the first whistle, as Northern Ireland took the game to the lowly visitors – ranked 201 in the FIFA …
