O'Neill hails NI 'quality' but rues Bradley ban

Northern Ireland are level with Germany and Slovakia in Group A with six points from their first three games

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill said his side were "excellent" in their 2-0 win over Slovakia in World Cup qualifying - but rued an "extremely harsh" yellow card that will keep Conor Bradley out of the next game against Germany.

An own goal from Patrik Hrosovsky and a fine lob from Trai Hume helped NI move to six points, which keeps their hopes of qualifying for the tournament in North America alive.

O'Neill was delighted with his side's display, particularly in the first half that they dominated.

"I thought the performance was excellent - right from the first minute, the intensity of the play, the quality of the play and not letting the opposition have any opportunity to breathe and play," he told BBC Sport's Gavin Andrews.

"We couldn't have asked for any more. The preparation of the team was excellent, and I felt we could get a good performance and they delivered."

O'Neill backs 'magnificent' captain Bradley

Bradley picked up a yellow card against Slovakia that rules him out of Northern Ireland's game against Germany on Monday

O'Neill believes the win, which stretches Northern Ireland's unbeaten streak at home to seven games, shows the maturity of his young side and how good they can be.

"I think they understand now the levels they can get to, there is still more to go with this group of players," he added.

"Tonight, we showed what we can be like at home, we have shown this before if you look back to the Bulgaria game, but we played a better team tonight and we showed it against a very good team."

Reluctant to single out players given so many performed well, O'Neill did praise captain on the night Bradley for being the catalyst, particularly down the right side.

"From the word 'go' he was magnificent, his energy, him and Ethan [Galbraith] on were terrific on that side with their link-up and quality," O'Neill said.

"We have so many good young players who love playing together. It is difficult to pick one player, Conor does stand out because he does so many good things, it was good for him to captain the team on a night like this."

The only dampener on a positive night for NI was that 22-year-old Liverpool full-back Bradley picked up the yellow card for a foul that will rule him out of the crucial meeting with Germany in Belfast on Monday.

O'Neill was frustrated by the decision. When asked how harsh he felt the yellow card was - Bradley's second in three qualifiers - O'Neill said it was "extremely" so.

"I have watched it back and he tries to pull out," O'Neill said.

"The referee, at times, it was good he didn't want to hand out yellow cards, but if he was going to give a yellow for that he should have dished out more. Especially for the opposition."