Romania 1-1 Northern Ireland: Michael O'Neill praises his side's 'excellent' display in draw
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Conor Bradley was one of five Northern Ireland players under the age of 21 to start the game in Bucharest
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill praised his side's "excellent" performance in their 1-1 friendly draw with Romania in Bucharest.
The youthful visitors took the lead after seven minutes through debutant James Reid before Dennis Man equalised for the Euro 2024-bound hosts.
O'Neill was impressed with the maturity shown by his team, which had an average age of just 23.5.
"We're very pleased. This is a tough place to come," he said.
"We came here nearly 10 years ago and were beaten 2-0 by a good Romanian team, and we had a much more experienced team than we had playing tonight.
"The disappointing thing is we maybe could have won the game. The reality of the situation is, in a qualification campaign, if you came to the likes of here and drew, you would be delighted with the result."
Northern Ireland made a dream start to the game when Reid calmly finished off a well-worked move that involved Conor Bradley and Shea Charles.
They were pegged back by Man's leveller, which goalkeeper Conor Hazard will feel he should have saved after it squirmed past him.
The result was another positive step for this young Northern Ireland squad, following their 2-0 win against Denmark at Windsor Park in November.
O'Neill was pleased with how his side contained Romania, who are now unbeaten in 12 games, albeit he expressed his frustration at the goal they conceded.
"We set up well, the players were able to execute how we played and we were very good on the break. You can see that with the goal and another couple of opportunities," he explained.
"The goal that we lost was a little bit disappointing to be honest, but we didn't have a player over 30 in our team and we had five Under-21s that started and finished the game.
"I think that is a real positive of where we are at this minute in time.
"The performance was excellent - the work rate and attitude to the game was fantastic."
'Reid has been a really good addition to the squad'
At 29, Reid is the second oldest player to score on their Northern Ireland debut
O'Neill reserved a special word for the impact Stevenage striker Reid made on his international debut at the age of 29.
"I'm delighted for Jamie Reid. I thought he came in and did really well and his goal is a great finish.
"His all-round play was very good, so it is a brilliant international start for him."
O'Neill admitted: "It's no secret that we are not blessed with strikers who are playing at the top level of the game.
"Jamie has been scoring goals at League One level. He is a late developer and he has had to work hard in his career to get where he has got to now and he has had a brilliant season for Stevenage.
"He has scored a lot of goals in League Two and a lot of goals in League One, and now his first game in international football.
"Without knowing him too well, he seems to be a lad who, when you raise the bar, he takes that challenge and he wants to meet it.
"He has been a really good addition to the squad, he's a really nice boy and he has fitted in well."
Ballard and Lewis to return for Scotland game
Looking ahead to the second international friendly against Scotland on Tuesday evening at Hampden Park, O'Neill is optimistic that Northern Ireland's absentee list will be reduced as he anticipates the return of both Daniel Ballard and Jamal Lewis.
"We're hopeful that Jamal might make it and Daniel will join the squad," he added.
"Unfortunately, it looks like Ross McCausland won't make it, it would have been nice to get Ross the opportunity.
"Certainly, Daniel will give us something as will Jamal, because we are playing a little bit lopsided with right-footed players playing on the left due to the injury situation.
"If they come in, they will give us a little more strength and added experience."