Xavi strike sinks Irish

Xavi's strike finally dashed Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 as Spain recorded a 1-0 victory.

Northern Ireland's Euro 2008 dream is over

Xavi's strike finally dashed Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 as Spain recorded a 1-0 victory over Nigel Worthington's brave side. The night began with the Irish needing something special, but fine passing and control from the home side early on made for a long and hard match for the visitors. It game as no surprise when Spain forged ahead in the 52nd minute when Xavi's shot from outside the penalty area deflected off Stephen Craigan past Maik Taylor. Northern Ireland never really looked like equalising and with Sweden beating Latvia in Stockholm, it proved a bridge too far for Worthington's side. Worthington rang the changes late on in a bid to get back into the game, although Spain remained the more likely to score, but in the end one goal proved enough. Spain started brightly and Xavi cracked a shot wide of Taylor's post after two minutes. The home side had loud claims for a penalty waved away by referee Herbert Fandel in the seventh minute after David Silva went to ground following a challenge from Stephen Craigan.

Possession

Spain were having the majority of possession and knocking the ball around with the confidence of a nation that had secured their place in the finals with one match to spare. Northern Ireland, however, responded in the 17th minute when Healy typically made space for himself only to see his effort from distance go over the bar. There was little respite, however, and Sergio Ramos found the side-netting in the 21st minute following a neat through ball from Cesc Fabregas. The conditions were certainly different to what they were in Belfast at the weekend when Denmark were defeated in torrential rain. Tonight the temperature was a balmy 20 degrees. Spain stepped up the pressure and Taylor got down quickly to smother a shot from Daniel Guiza. Just a minute later Sergio Ramos came within inches of making the breakthrough, only for Clingan to clear off the line. Northern Ireland, however, were beginning to pick up the pace of the game with Chris Brunt finding space on the left. The West Brom winger was wasting no time in delivering the ball into the area for Healy and his strike partner. Fabregas then sprung into life after 38 minutes and the Arsenal midfielder stung Taylor's fingers with a rasping drive from 20 yards. The home crowd, though, were becoming a little bit frustrated by their team's inability to break the deadlock despite some neat play. Taylor then did well in the 40th minute to claw away a cross from Andres Iniesta after it took a sudden deflection. Northern Ireland were again on the back foot two minutes later when Gareth McAuley reacted quickly to boot away Guiza's close-range effort. This was a testing time for the province and Taylor parried a 25-yard shot from Marcos Senna before blocking Silva's effort.

Goal

Spain went ahead in the 53rd minute with Northern Ireland cursing their luck. Taylor seemed to have Xavi's 25-yard effort covered but he was left wrong-footed after it took a deflection of Craigan. It was an uphill task for the province now and Worthington reacted by bringing on Kyle Lafferty for Brunt after 59 minutes. Lafferty scored a superb equaliser against Sweden and had been forced to miss the victory over Denmark through suspension. Spain should have extended their lead two minutes later when substitute Joaquin pulled the ball back from the byline. It looked a tap-in for Silva but he somehow managed to steer his shot wide of Taylor's post. The Ulstermen refused to give in and Healy received a booking for a late challenge on Sergio Ramos. As Northern Ireland poured forward in search of an equaliser, more and more gaps were opening in their defence. Taylor had to be sharp off his line to thwart the onrushing Joaquin five minutes from full-time as the Spaniards looked to kill of the game.

Spain	Team Statistics	Northern Ireland
1	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
7	Shots on Target	1
7	Shots off Target	1
7	Blocked Shots	1
10	Corners	3
4	Fouls	13
0	Offsides	4
0	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
91	Passing Success	67.4
14	Tackles	22
78.6	Tackles Success	72.7
80.2	Possession	19.8
56.2	Territorial Advantage	43.8