Northern Ireland 3-0 San Marino: Paul Smyth reflects on fine performance in first NI start

Northern Ireland forward Paul Smyth said he "couldn't have asked for a better day" after scoring the opener as they defeated San Marino 3-0 at Windsor Park on Saturday.

Smyth scored on his debut for Northern Ireland in March 2018, but was forced to wait five years to make his first start for his country.

The 26-year old believes it was well worth the wait.

"I was buzzing to make my first start, I wanted to make an impact," he added.

"I was delighted all my family were there to see me score. I wanted to show that I was capable of playing at this level and I did that."

Smyth broke the deadlock with just five minutes on the clock with a well-taken volley from Jamal Lewis' cross.

• NI beat San Marino to end losing run in qualifiers

He then turned provider to set up Josh Magennis for Northern Ireland's second goal and had another fine finish disallowed for offside in a busy first half for the Queens Park Rangers man.

Conor McMenamin added a late third for Northern Ireland with his first international goal to seal only their second win in Group H.

Smyth admitted that Northern Ireland could have been more clinical against the lowest-ranked team in the world, but that he was pleased with his own performance.

"We could have scored more but they defended really well," conceded Smyth.

"I was hungry for the start, I've been patient and I have just been waiting on my chance. There are so many good players and it is tough to compete with them."

He added: "When I got told I was going to play I just said, 'I'm going to give it everything' and show why I deserve to be here."

'We made it difficult for ourselves at times' - O'Neill

His manager Michael O'Neill was keen to single out Smyth and Dale Taylor, who was also making his first Northern Ireland start, for their displays in the win.

"I was pleased with those two in the wide areas, Paul was lively, took his goal well and looked a threat with his ability to run in behind," he said.

"Dale, we knew he would give us a goal threat on that side of the pitch and he did. He had a good chance in the second half, which he knew himself he probably should have taken."

Reflecting on the game as a whole, O'Neill was relieved to end Northern Ireland's long wait for a home win, which stretched back to September 2022 against Kosovo.

"We are pleased with a lot of aspects from the game. I thought we started very brightly. We scored two good goals and we worked hard on shifting the ball and trying to get in behind, which we did for both goals," he explained.

"We made it a bit difficult for ourselves at times, we could have played a little bit quicker but then the disallowed goal took a bit of life out of the game.

"It was a brilliant goal and to have it take so long to be disallowed was disappointing."

After a blistering opening to the game, Northern Ireland were more laboured in the second half and spurned a number of good chances to further extend their advantage.

O'Neill believes the changes he made in the second period contributed to this.

"In the second half with the substitutions, we felt we needed a bit of energy, but it also broke the game up a bit. We had five U21 players on the pitch to finish the game.

"We had good moments in the last 20 minutes, we had chances that we didn't take, but I was glad to see Conor McMenamin get the third goal.

"Overall we are pleased, the application was very good, but there are always things you can do better."