Late goals down N.Ireland

Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying from Group 3 took a major blow as they went down to two late goals in Slovenia.

Novakovic and Ljubijankic goals seal win

Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying from Group Three took a major blow as they went down to two late goals in Slovenia. Nigel Worthington's side held their own but Kyle Lafferty and Jonny Evans spurned decent second-half chances. They were made to pay as Valter Birca put in a great cross from the right for Millivoje Novakovic to tap in at the far post on 84 minutes. A minute later substitute Zlatan Ljubijankic hustled Evans off the ball and slotted coolly past Maik Taylor into the left hand corner. The defeat means Northern Ireland are now six points off the pace in Group 3 having lost two of their opening three games. And a miserable night was capped in injury-time when influential defender Evans picked up a booking - the Northern Ireland's fifth of the night - which means he will be suspended for Wednesday's home match against San Marino. It was a heartbreaking end to the match for Worthington's team, who had shown good discipline until the last six minutes. Worthington made four changes to his side for the match at the Ljudski VRT Stadium, with Steven Davis, Lafferty, Gareth McAuley and Grant McCann all returning after missing the 0-0 draw against Czech Republic. Backed by 1,200 fans, Northern Ireland were looking to kick-start their campaign after taking one point from two qualifiers. West Brom midfielder Robert Koren captained Slovenia, out to maintain their bright start in Group 3. Manchester United defender Evans had recovered from a virus and was able to take his place in the side. Worthington had called on his team to use the venue like a home game as the stadium's capacity is similar to Windsor Park.

Shot wide

However, Slovenia were the first to show and Mirnes Sisic fired a shot wide of the post in the fifth minute. Northern Ireland, though, were knocking the ball around well in the early stages of the game. Slovenia were keeping a close eye on David Healy, who was looking to break his duck in the campaign after scoring a record 13 goals in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. The home fans screamed for a penalty in the 18th minute when Chris Baird bundled over Zlatko Dedic but Spanish referee Eduardo Gonzales allowed play to continue. The province almost took the lead two minutes later when Lafferty showed good reactions to get on the end of a cross from McAuley only for his effort to finish the wrong side of the post. It was a sign the side was growing in confidence in front of a partisan home crowd. Northern Ireland had appeared to take heart from the home draw against the Czech Republic last month and were playing with no little confidence. Davis missed that game and seemed to be making up for lost time. He was becoming increasingly influential in the middle of the park and was also getting forward to support Healy. The Rangers midfielder cracked in a shot which went across the face of the goal in the 28th minute after Keith Gillespie's effort had only been half-cleared. Six minutes later Davis strode forward again, as the Slovenia defence back-pedalled, and powered in a shot that was deflected over the bar. The home crowd were suddenly muted at this show of aggression and Worthington's side could be satisfied with their first-half performance.

Second half

The visitors kept their shape well at the start of the second half and looked disciplined at the back. Certainly Evans was not showing any effects from the virus he had suffered at the beginning of the week - forming a good partnership with Aaron Hughes to keep Slovenia at bay. Healy suddenly burst into life in the 58th minute and tried to chip the goalkeeper, only for his effort to go over the crossbar. Slovenia had taken four points from their first two qualifiers, but were finding their opponents a tough nut to crack. The stylish Koren was trying to get the home side going and showing some nice touches but the game was finely balanced. Lafferty then took advantage of a loose backpass and raced forward for a one-on-one with keeper Samir Handanovic, only to see his effort come off the chest of the shot-stopper in the 64th minute. Evans then spurned a decent chance before the visitors were rocked back on their heels in the space of a minute when Slovenia scored twice to seal the points. Novakovic made the breakthrough in the 84th minute and then substitute Ljubijankic added a second to leave the Northern Ireland heartbroken.

Slovenia	Team Statistics	Northern Ireland
2	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	2
2	Shots off Target	7
3	Blocked Shots	3
3	Corners	3
21	Fouls	22
1	Offsides	2
4	Yellow Cards	5
0	Red Cards	0
73.2	Passing Success	66.4
9	Tackles	17
66.7	Tackles Success	76.5
52.8	Possession	47.2
56	Territorial Advantage	44