Austria vs Northern Ireland. UEFA Nations League Group B1.
Ernst-Happel-Stadion.
Northern Ireland on brink of relegation in Nations League; Josh Magennis gave visitors lead; But late goals from Louis Schaub and Adrian Grbic dent Northern Irish hopes; They now must beat Romania on Wednesday to have any chance of survival
Monday 16 November 2020 11:18, UK
Northern Ireland are on the brink of Nations League relegation after Austria's late comeback saw them lose 2-1 in Vienna.
Ian Baraclough's side were closing in on a much-needed victory when Josh Magennis gave the visitors the lead in the 74th minute.
However, substitutes Louis Schaub (81) and Adrian Grbic (87) struck in the final 10 minutes to complete the turnaround as Northern Ireland's difficult week got worse.
It caps a miserable four days for Northern Ireland following their Euro 2020 play-off defeat to Slovakia last Thursday and they now must beat Romania on Wednesday to have any chance of avoiding relegation from League B of the Nations League.
Meanwhile, Austria's win, coupled with Norway's Covid-19 predicament, puts Franco Foda's side on course for League A as they moved three points clear at the top of the Group B1 standings.
Northern Ireland made a positive start and they were inches from taking the lead as Liam Boyce, who ignored the option of squaring to Conor Washington, fired wide of the far post.
In a game of very few openings, the much-changed Northern Ireland side, who lost Shane Ferguson to a back problem in the 36th minute, were holding their own against more experienced opposition and posed a threat on the break.
Michael Gregoritsch headed narrowly wide from David Alaba's corner three minutes before the break, but that was as good as it got for the hosts as the sides went in still goalless.
Frustrated by Northern Ireland, Franco Foda made changes at half-time, pushing Alaba further forward, and the hosts gradually began to build momentum in the second half.
However, Baraclough made positive changes too, with Magennis and Gavin Whyte replacing Boyce and Washington and just as Austria seemed to be taking control, Northern Ireland took the lead.
Magennis beat the Austrian offside trap to finish an excellent passing move to spark the Northern Ireland celebrations.
However, they were soon cut short as the visitors' lead lasted only six minutes. A cross into the box flicked off Grbic before falling kindly for fellow substitute Schaub.
There were suspicions of offside as he turned it in but, with no VAR in place, the goal stood, and the turnaround was complete six minutes later when Marko Arnautovic fed Grbic who fired beyond Michael McGovern.
To complete a miserable night for Northern Ireland, assistant coach Austin MacPhee was sent off in the final moments.
Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough: "I thought they were excellent tonight. They responded really well from the disappointment of the other night.
"The shape was good, the mentality was good, we were patient knowing they were going to have a lot of the ball, we pressed at the right times and we were 10 minutes away from coming away winning the game.
"I've just seen the footage again and the first goal was offside. You rely on the officials to get things right and tonight they were very, very picky.
"I've had my assistant coach sent off for venting his frustration, not at the officials or any players, but just his frustration and stuff like that winds you up. You expect them to get the key decisions right."
Northern Ireland captain Stuart Dallas:
"We put so much into it, especially off the back of Thursday night, we went with a different shape and it worked really well.
"I'm sure there are things we can work on. Their first goal is offside, I haven't seen it back but I know it's offside, and the second goal is a bit of quality from them, a good disguised pass.
"Maybe we switched off a little but and we're disappointed we haven't come away with something, because I think the performance deserved it."
Asked about the Romania-Norway situation, he added: "It's something we can't control, whatever happens happens. We find ourselves in this position because we haven't been able to pick up points early in the group.
"It's important we don't rely on anyone else and just put in a positive performance and try to get a win. It's three or four months until we meet up again so it would certainty put us into a positive mood going into the World Cup campaign."
Northern Ireland debutant Alistair McCann on Sky Sports:
"I thought we were good and played well, we probably deserved something from the match and in the end it's gutting to get nothing, but there were positive signs and we can count ourselves disappointed to come away empty-handed.
"We worked on our shape in the days leading up to this obviously and it worked out well, we limited them to very little until the last 10 minutes.
"It's all well and good saying afterwards that we should have held on, but we put so much into the game and they got two wee chances and we're just disappointed we didn't manage to hold on to something in the end."
Former Northern Ireland striker Iain Dowie:
"Ballard did a lot of really good things. He was comfortable on the ball, passed it nicely and tracked his runners well.
"He was in the right place at the right time on a number of occasions and coped with the threat of Austria really well. He did himself a lot of good tonight.
"The back three was a positive all round."
Northern Ireland face Romania at Windsor Park on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Mix; Kick off 7.45pm.
Meanwhile, Austria are due to host Norway, also on Wednesday at 7.45pm, live on Sky Sport Football red button.
