Terrific year for Northern Ireland ends on a low note

Northern Ireland 0 Croatia 3

Northern Ireland rounded off their incredible 2016 on a losing note as a depleted Croatia became the first visiting side to win at Windsor Park in three years.

Since Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 win for Portugal, Michael O’Neill’s men had recorded eight wins and two draws in their previous 10 fixtures in Belfast.

But they were undone by a Croatian team missing Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Dejan Lovren among others.

Mario Mandzukic, the most high profile player in the visitors’ ranks, opened the scoring by bundling home early on before Duje Cop finished from a corner and ex-Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric fired into the top corner in a 3-0 success.

Heaviest defeat

It represented the heaviest defeat since a 6-0 loss to Holland in June 2012, though it did little to detract from a calendar year that saw Northern Ireland feature at a finals for the first time in three decades, having also pieced together a record-breaking 12-match unbeaten run en route to Euro 2016 in France.

Traffic problems delayed kick-off by 15 minutes and when fans eventually arrived at Windsor Park they saw a much-changed home side that only retained West Brom trio Jonny Evans, Chris Brunt and Gareth McAuley, and Oliver Norwood and Josh Magennis.

There was a debut for Rochdale’s Matthew Lund and just a ninth cap for goalkeeper Alan Mannus. O’Neill’s new-look team started brightly with Magennis’ inviting cross causing Croatia anxious moments.

But Croatia responded with a ninth-minute opener, the first goal Northern Ireland had conceded here in 463 minutes.

It came in scrappy fashion once Mannus had denied Cop, with both McAuley and Evans favourites to clear, only for Mandzukic to somehow poke the ball over the line when Evans attempted to hack clear.

It was Mandzukic’s 29th international goal.

The fixture soon settled into a pace more befitting an international friendly and Cop doubled the advantage in the 34th minute. A corner from Kramaric, the former record signing for Leicester, was nodded on by Matej Mitrovic and Cop lost Magennis to finish in front of The Kop. It was in that stand where security moved in to remove a cluster of fans before half-time.

Flares thrown

Croatia had staged their previous two World Cup qualifiers behind closed doors, and referee Mark Clattenburg, the man on duty here, was in charge at the Euros when their game with the Czech Republic was stopped due to flares thrown from the Croatian section.

A banner was unfurled here which read 'Never Forget Vukovar', a reference to a massacre that occurred during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, but thankfully no serious incidents of trouble were evident in the stands.

O’Neill made three half-time changes to the home side. But Croatian substitute Marcelo Brozovic soon blazed over from a free-kick inside the box.

Kramaric had no such troubles when he picked up possession 30 yards from goal in the 68th minute and arrowed into the top corner with the type of strike Leicester fans were never treated to in his ill-fated Foxes spell.

It was to finish 3-0, with substitute Kyle Lafferty twice denied a consolation, though with a fine year behind them, this night will be quickly forgotten by home faithful.