Late FYROM penalty denies Northern Ireland
Thursday, May 10, 2012
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FYROM 1-0 Northern Ireland
Yani Urdinov's late penalty ensured the hosts maintained their unbeaten record in Group 4 and moved them level with second-placed Denmark.
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The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia boosted their chances of reaching the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the first time with a 1-0 win against Northern Ireland in Kumanovo.
It was the visitors made the early inroads, however, with William Grigg pickpocketing Kirce Ristevski but failing to beat Filip Gacevski from close range. Connor McLaughlin then planted a firm header narrowly over before FYROM seized the initiative. Ilija Nestorovski provided a perfect cross for Feran Hasani, but the forward fired straight at Conor Devlin.
The hosts emerged with more adventure after the interval, and it was the introduction of David Babunski which sparked them into the life. Soon after, Seanan Clucas handled in the area but Nestorovski blazed over the crossbar from the spot.
However, FYROM were not to be denied and Yani Urdinov converted his side's second penalty on 83 minutes. The visitors' misery was compounded when Shane Ferguson was sent off.
