Michael O'Neill praises Northern Ireland spirit after win in Azerbaijan

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill praised the spirit of his team after a vital 1-0 World Cup qualifying win away to Azerbaijan.

O'Neill's men looked to be hanging on for a 0-0 draw until Stuart Dallas snatched the victory in stoppage-time.

"Three, four years ago we would have lost this game 1-0 and people would not be surprised by that," said O'Neill.

"The result is testament to the spirit in the team. We stayed in the game, fought hard and got a lucky break."

Dallas' first competitive international goal earned the Northern Irish all three World Cup qualifying points when it looked like they would be fortunate to escape the stifling Baku heat with a draw.

They are second in Group C with 13 out of 18 points, and world champions Germany are the only team to have scored against them.

"It was an extremely tough game, as we knew it would be. Azerbaijan are a very good team," said O'Neill.

"It was a difficult for us, with the conditions and also with a number of our players who have not played for nearly six weeks.

"But we are grateful to get the result and I can understand Azerbaijan's frustration.

"Jonny Evans and Aaron Hughes were excellent at centre-back and for Jonny to find that composure in the box for the goal.

"Stuart did a huge amount of work in the game and showed great quality to finish as he did."