A 2-0 Win Over Denmark Brings New Spirit To Northern Ireland

Michael O'Neill called Northern Ireland's 2-0 win over Denmark (photo: footballmad.co.uk)

JAKARTA - Michael O'Neill called Northern Ireland's 2-0 win over Denmark a positive move despite realizing that his team was still far from the best version.

In the last tough Group H match, the team that O'Neill handled finally managed to beat the opponent not just a small team like San Marino. Victory was created through goals from Isaac Price and Dion Charles in the second half. This confirms they were able to win their first competitive win over a higher-ranked team since beating Ukraine in June 2016.

While not disguising the various problems faced by O'Neill in rebuilding the squad that was slumped by injury, this victory provided a much-needed shot of confidence at the end of the year full of challenges.

O'Neill has relied on a number of young players more than he wants, in international football fights it's not easy, but that night he could turn the narrative positive.

"The atmosphere in the dressing room is completely different," O'Neill said. "You can see young players and see what it means for them. Those involved in the previous campaign, I think they only won one game and this campaign we only won three.

"We were tested in this campaign so they will get a lot from tonight. This is a good result against a good team, but that's it. Hopefully they will return in March with more faith and trust, regardless of who the opponent is...," he explained.

"I'm not too excited. This is a step in the right direction and we have to take more steps in the right direction," he said.

Northern Ireland started well, where Dion Charles' shot hit the post eight minutes after Eoin Toal fired a wide header.

After a long and difficult campaign in which Northern Ireland suffered five defeats 1-0 and failed to score in six of its ten games, this is a highly anticipated moment.

"It's a very difficult campaign to assess," O'Neill said. "To compete in every campaign, we will need consistency in elections, no other way."

"When we enter this campaign, we feel we will have a different team and that we will have young players around us who can energize and give us encouragement if and when we need it." he said after the game.

"We ended up playing with a lot of these young players more than we expected, but they were amazing. Shea Charles played nine out of 10 games and took a break once, she barely missed a minute and the level of play was really good," he said.

"Isaac too. I saw Isaac in February play in the game for Everton U-20. I didn't imagine he would start six or seven games, score two goals, play in various positions," he added.

"This young man has undergone a major transformation in their careers in the last eight months, let alone adapting to playing international football as well," explains O'Neill.