Dion Charles scored a brace to help Northern Ireland produce one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the European Championship qualifying. Northern Ireland opened their Group H account with three points after Charles broke his international duck by prodding home in the 24th minute and then heading home a second 10 minutes later. Charles had gone 13 internationals without scoring before this encounter, although the goals came as a surprise given that he had 18 goals in 42 appearances for Bolton this season. Northern Ireland will be hoping that this is only the beginning of their search for a regular goalscorer.
O’Neill, who returned to the post he left in 2020 in December, had to wait until the 10th match of his first tenure for a victory, but there was no such wait against a team ranked bottom in the FIFA rankings and yet to win a competitive international in their 167th attempt. This was not the thunderous victory that many teams, including Northern Ireland, have experienced at Serravalle over the years, but O’Neill’s main concern was earning three points to restart the season, and this was a case of a job done before Sunday’s home encounter against Finland.
It just took three minutes for the 1,000 travelling supporters to request a wave from the man who led them to Euro 2016, and the 53-year-old gladly obliged. Northern Ireland started slowly, with plenty of balls but no penetration. O’Neill chose a 3-5-2 formation over his favoured 4-3-3, a choice that may have been pushed by the extensive injury list that had deprived him of the services of so many veterans from his previous tenure. Conor Bradley, Charles’ Bolton teammate, was the brightest spark, but too many of Northern Ireland’s early attempts broke down before they could get the ball into the box, as San Marino, who boasted 40-year-old debutant Roberto Di Maio in defence after gaining citizenship in January, stood up effectively.
The first test for home goalie Elia Benedettini came in the 14th minute when he swiped away a header from Middlesbrough’s Paddy McNair as he met George Saville’s cross. Northern Ireland opened the deadlock with a fast free-kick to the right, and Conor Washington fired in a low cross for his strike partner to turn in at the far post. As Bradley got free of his man to gallop into space down the right, Saville should have done better, but he sent the cross over the bar, while Benedetti did well to push a thunderous Bradley strike around the post shortly before the interval.
Northern Ireland would have appreciated a second goal before the break, but they had to wait until the 55th minute when Jamal Lewis sent in a long cross from the left and Charles stooped to head home. Northern Ireland appeared energised but was unable to capitalise. Washington watched one turn wide for a corner and then blasted another over, while Bradley had another attempt charged down.
Just after the hour, San Marino fans thought they had pulled one back, a rare goal to cheer, but the assistant waited until Nicola Nanni had beaten Bailey Peacock-Farrell before raising the flag. Before the conclusion, Cameron McGeehan, a 27-year-old Ostend midfielder, and Everton teenager Isaac Price made their debuts from the bench, but the game petered out in the final 10 minutes as the Green and White Army serenaded O’Neill from the sidelines.
“When a player is playing club football in League One like Dion is, the international stage is a step up, and it’s crucial to prove yourself and score when you step up. He was fantastic in my opinion. He was exactly like I’d seen him play for his club: all-action and a nightmare to defend. He’s always working, and I’m glad he got the two goals,” Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill said. “When David (Healy) was scoring frequently and Kyle (Lafferty) was scoring at times when they weren’t scoring for their clubs or playing regularly, they were scoring at international level. All of these are circumstances that we have had to deal with. Dion is possibly making up for a lost time as a striker. He was out of the NFL for four years and had to come from a long way back to get to where he is today, and he appears to be a player who is determined to get everything out of his career going ahead.”
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