Feeney seals crucial win

Northern Ireland kept their World Cup dreams alive with a 1-0 win over Slovenia.

Northern Ireland sneak past Slovenia to stay top of the group

Northern Ireland kept their World Cup dreams alive with a 1-0 win over Slovenia at Windsor Park thanks to a Warren Feeney header. The Dundee United striker got on the end of a Sammy Clingan cross at the near post and flicked his header into the far corner after 73 minutes. The win keeps Northern Ireland at the top of Group Three but this, as the scoreline suggests, was a hard-fought win. In a game of very few clear-cut chances the visitors will have felt that they edged the first half with Maik Taylor saving well from Miso Brecko early on. Nigel Worthington's men got to grips with their opponents in the second half and, despite Robert Koren smashing the bar, the hosts had the better of the second period with David Healy and Damien Johnson going close. Slovenia almost took the lead in the 10th minute but goalkeeper Taylor did well to parry Brecko's close-range effort after he was released inside the area by Bostjan Cesar. Taylor may be 37 but the Birmingham shot-stopper proved he is as sharp as ever with that block.

Change

Worthington was then forced to make a change six minutes later when Gareth McAuley limped off and was replaced by Chris Baird. Slovenia, who chalked up a 2-0 victory earlier in the campaign, were looking far more assured at this stage than Poland. Northern Ireland again found themselves on the back foot in the 22nd minute when Andrej Komac swung in a corner, only for skipper Aaron Hughes to stay alert and make the clearance. They responded in the 30th minute when Healy seized on a half chance, only to spoon his effort over the bar. Healy snatched at it, perhaps in his desperation to add to his tally of one goal in the campaign. It has been a poor return for the Sunderland striker after his record 13-goal haul in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Baird and Healy then both went to ground quickly but Israeli referee Alon Yefet allowed play to continue. That decision incensed Worthington, who raced out of his technical area to protest. Northern Ireland boss Worthington made a change at half-time with young Manchester City defender McGivern replacing George McCartney. The province made a bright start to the second half with Healy whipping in a cross that tested the goalkeeper.

Scrappy

Then in the 56th minute Johnson headed over the bar at the back post following a corner from Chris McCann. The game was becoming scrappy with neither goalkeeper really being tested. However that did not prevent the partisan crowd from giving their side tremendous vocal backing. Slovenia almost went ahead in the 67th minute when skipper Koren raced forward and cracked in a shot from 25 yards that came back off the bar. The West Brom midfielder was left shaking his head in frustration at seeing Northern Ireland escape. The hosts then made the breakthrough in the 73rd minute with Feeney finding the target. The on-loan Dundee United striker glanced a header beyond the goalkeeper after a good build-up involving Clingan and Johnson to prompt another night of celebrations in the old town.

Northern Ireland	Team Statistics	Slovenia
1	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	1
2	Shots off Target	3
1	Blocked Shots	1
6	Corners	4
17	Fouls	17
1	Offsides	2
4	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
64.5	Passing Success	64.1
8	Tackles	15
75	Tackles Success	86.7
58.2	Possession	41.8
56.2	Territorial Advantage	43.8