NI draw blank in Slovakia

Northern Ireland played out a 0-0 draw against Slovakia in their final friendly before the start of their Euro 2016 campaign.

Preparing for their first ever European Championship, and first major tournament for 30 years since the 1986 World Cup, they held on for a decent result against England’s Group B opponents.

Northern Ireland put three past Belarus in their last friendly a week ago in Belfast, but rarely threatened on Saturday night in Trnava. Michael O’Neill’s side now have eight days to prepare for their first game in France against Poland next Sunday.

The Irish had a great chance to open the scoring after just eight minutes when Paddy McNair picked out Kyle Lafferty in the box, but the striker saw his low effort strike the arm of Slovakia right-back Peter Pekarik before bouncing clear. The away side appealed for a penalty, but his arm was at …

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