Michael O’Neill hails impact of Liverpool’s Conor Bradley in Northern Ireland’s Nations League victory
Michael O’Neill praised the attitude of Conor Bradley after the Liverpool man put in another star performance in Northern Ireland’s 2-0 Nations League win over Luxembourg.
Paddy McNair and Daniel Ballard got the goals inside the opening 17 minutes, but it was Bradley who provided the most constant threat down the right-hand side.
The Liverpool man won the free-kick from which Ballard doubled Northern Ireland’s lead and created more chances for Northern Ireland to add to their lead which they were unable to take.
Bradley’s performances in a Northern Ireland shirt have put him in the spotlight at a young age, but it is something he seems to savour.
He’s just turned 21, he’s a terrific player, and the attributes are there for everyone to see,” O’Neill said. “Conor will go to a very, very high level in the game. It’s game time that he needs and he’s at a club where that’s not easy to get.
“But when he comes here he embraces it.”
Jonny Evans’ international retirement adds to the loss of the experience of Steven Davis and Stuart Dallas in the last year, but Northern Ireland now have a young, hungry team and momentum after wins over Denmark and Scotland in the last 10 months.
The win over Luxembourg also brings something new in that they have, for the first time, enjoyed a positive start to a Nations League campaign, with this only their second win in 17 in the competition.
