Kerr's men beat Northern Ireland 1-1

Faroe Islands 1 Northern Ireland 1:FORMER REPUBLIC of Ireland manager Brian Kerr guided Faroe Islands to a deserved draw yesterday with Northern Ireland in Toftir, just four days after the Irish side drew with Italy in Belfast.

The unheralded Faroes took the lead on the hour when Christian Lamhauge Holst pounced on an error just inside the box, twisted and turned before firing a low shot past Maik Taylor to stun Nigel Worthington’s side.

However, 16 minutes later, Kyle Lafferty spared Northern Ireland’s blushes with an accurate strike from just inside the area that clipped the post on its way into the net.

“We had a 40-year-old goalkeeper (Jakup Mikkelsen) who’s a schoolteacher and a member of parliament,” said a jubilant Kerr afterwards. “He retired last year, but I had to call him up again. He’s hard to contact, though, he doesn’t have a mobile phone.

“He said ‘yeah, yeah, no problem, if you need me I will come’. He was brilliant in Slovenia and absolutely fantastic tonight.

“It was tough to get the team’s morale up after losing the last four games, it had been so disappointing so far, so tonight was very nice.

“It was great in the dressing room afterwards, they knew they had achieved something, against a team that had just drawn with Italy. They were smashing. They were honest and game.

“In the end I felt a small bit sorry for them that we took points off them, and I have to say I was thinking about what my Ma and Da (both born in Belfast) would have thought.

“Here was I managing a far-off team in a far-off place against the place they were from. But that’s the way it is, you have to do your job.

“It was important for us and important for the people here. They were chuffed. A good night.”

Worthington said it was a fair result and blamed his players for taking the Faroes too lightly.

“There was complacency in the back of their minds. We deserved it (being held to a draw). If you don’t prepare mentally and individually that’s what happens.”

• Guardian Service

FAROE ISLANDS:Mikkelsen, Naes, Jacobsen, Davidsen, Gregersen, Udsen (Petersen 67), Benjaminsen, Samuelsen (Arnbjorn Hansen 78), Holst (Justinus Hansen 84), Edmundsson, Elttor. Subs not used: Thomsen, Rubeksen, Bo, Mouritsen. Booked: Naes, Gregersen.

NORTHERN IRELAND:Taylor, McAuley, Jonathan Evans, Craigan, Hughes, Baird, Davis, McGinn (Corry Evans 83), Brunt, Feeney (Healy 50), Lafferty. Subs not used: Tuffey, Clingan, McCann, Patterson, Gorman. Booked: Davis.

Referee:C Zimmermann (Switzerland).

Holst 60

Lafferty 76

Att:1,921