Northern Ireland beaten by Danes in Euro U21 qualifier

Northern Ireland U21s fell to a third defeat of their Euro 2021 qualifying campaign after losing 1-0 to group leaders Denmark in Ballymena.

Andreas Olsen's 75th-minute penalty proved enough to separate the sides.

The hosts struggled to create chances and had goalkeeper Conor Hazard to thank for denying the Scandinavians a more convincing victory.

The defeat leaves NI in fifth place in their group with six points from seven games.

The result also makes it mathematically impossible for Northern Ireland to qualify for next year's finals as they are now 10 points adrift of second-placed Romania, who beat Malta 3-0 on Tuesday.

Andy Crosby's side had been hoping to maintain the momentum gained from earning a first win of the campaign with a 2-0 success away to Malta on Friday.

Strong opening from visitors

Denmark, who have now amassed 19 from a possible 21 points, started brightly with Carlo Holse and Frederik Ibsen both failing to convert presentable chances to bag an early opener.

Northern Ireland - who had six NI-based players in the starting line-up - sat deep during the first half, and while Manchester United midfielder Ethan Galbraith and Linfield striker Shayne Lavery produced quality passages of play, the hosts were unable to trouble Denmark goalkeeper Oliver Christensen.

Denmark should have opened the scoring two minutes into the second half when right-back Rasmus Carstensen found Andreas Olsen with an excellent pass over the top of the home side's defence only for Hazard to get down quickly and beat the forward's effort away.

Nathan Kerr moves clear of his Denmark opponent at the Showgrounds

Lavery, who started at the Showgrounds less than 24 hours after featuring in the NI senior side's defeat by Norway on Monday, missed Northern Ireland's clearest opportunity when he blazed a tight-angled shot over the bar having done well to elude a couple of Danish defenders."

Olsen - a constant menace with his movement in the Danish attack - should have netted the winner 22 minutes from time when he benefitted from a mix-up in the NI defence but blasted his left-footed shot well over the bar from close range.

Undeterred, Olsen stepped up to sweep home the winner from the spot after Linfield defender Ross Larkin's foul on Danish captain Victor Nelsson.

NI pressed higher in the closing stages but were unable to break down the visitors' defence, while Hazard again demonstrated his sharp reflexes when he managed to poke Olsen's deflected effort away for a corner with just three minutes remaining.

Northern Ireland return to qualifying action in October with a home double-header against Finland and Ukraine.