Northern Ireland 2-1 Kosovo: Josh Magennis scores late winner in Nations League
- Published
Josh Magennis scored his 10th goal in 68 games for Northern Ireland
Josh Magennis headed an injury-time winner as Northern Ireland came from behind to beat Kosovo 2-1 at Windsor Park.
Gavin Whyte hit an 82nd-minute equaliser before crossing for Magennis to head home in the 93rd minute as Northern Ireland ended a 14-game winless run in the Nations League.
Vedat Muriqi had fired Kosovo, ranked 106th in the world, into the lead in the 58th minute with a superb finish from the edge of the area.
The visitors' goal came minutes after Dion Charles saw an effort ruled out for offside as Ian Baraclough's side struggled to break down their opponents, who won the reverse fixture 3-2.
Magennis had a header brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Arijanet Muric as Northern Ireland pressed for an equaliser. The leveller came when Whyte slotted home from close range after good work by fellow substitute Shayne Lavery, before Magennis clinched the win.
NI bounce back from setback
The win is Northern Ireland's first in the Nations League, and the vocal response at full-time was in stark contrast to that at half-time, when sections of the crowd had booed a flat opening 45 minutes as pressure continued to build on Baraclough.
Along with Bolton team-mate Conor Bradley, Charles was the player looking to make something happen for the hosts and thought he had made the breakthrough on 56 minutes when his effort found the bottom corner - but the forward had strayed offside when collecting George Saville's through ball.
The wry smile on the striker's face said it all, and moments later Northern Ireland were behind when Muriqi smashed home the opener.
The Mallorca forward skipped inside Jonny Evans on the edge of the area and fired a low effort into the bottom corner before racing over to celebrate with the small section of Kosovo supporters in Belfast.
The goal sparked Northern Ireland into life and Muriqi, who also netted twice in the reverse fixture, was involved at the other end when he headed a goalbound header from Evans off the line.
'Tonight we were one' - NI manager Ian Baraclough
Muric pulled off a superb save to deny Magennis, tipping the striker's header onto the crossbar, and Bradley was denied by the Kosovan stopper on the follow-up.
Kosovo continued to drop deeper as sections of the Kop stand chanted "We want Bara out", which was interrupted when Paddy McNair fired over and Steven Davis curled straight at Muric.
Muriqi was denied by Bailey Peacock-Farrell before Whyte roared the Green and White Army back into life when he converted from close range after Lavery grafted his way into the area.
Peacock-Farrell denied Muriqi and substitute Zymer Bytyqi as Kosovo fought back before Magennis' decisive intervention.
Whyte turned from goalscorer to provider when Magennis' header flew into the top corner and sparked wild celebrations as NI held on to claim the three points.
Difficult build-up as second player withdrawn
Northern Ireland's build-up was disrupted when Kyle Lafferty was withdrawn from the squad amid an investigation by his club into an alleged sectarian remark, and winger Conor McMenamin was pulled out an hour before kick-off after a historical video was shared on social media.
The visitors, managed by former France midfielder Alain Giresse, looked bright from the off and were unfortunate not to take the lead when Peacock-Farrell could only palm Florent Muslija's effort into the path of Milot Rashica, but the Galatasaray winger scuffed his effort when it looked like the net would bulge.
Rashica again tested Peacock-Farrell, who managed to punch clear, and there was another lucky escape when Fidan Aliti hooked over the bar from close range as he reacted quickest to a corner.
Vedat Muriqi opened the scoring at Windsor Park
Kosovo looked more likely to break the deadlock when Muslija's low free-kick was beaten away by Peacock-Farrell and Elbasan Rashani's header looped onto the roof of the net.
Charles, making his first international start, looked to add some spark to Northern Ireland's otherwise blunt attack. The Bolton striker skipped inside Betim Fazliji and his low effort was parried away by Muric, and minutes later another low effort was easily held by the Kosovan goalkeeper.
The half-time whistle was met by a smattering of boos around Windsor Park after an uninspiring opening 45 minutes, but Northern Ireland's late show spared a repeat at full-time.
The result leaves Northern Ireland third in Nations League group C2, but in a strong position to avoid a relegation play-off ahead of their final game with Greece in Athens on Tuesday.
Cyprus' surprise win over Greece on Saturday night means Northern Ireland will have to match or better the Cypriots' result against Kosovo to stay in League C.