Northern Ireland achieved what England could not as they beat the Czech Republic in Prague but had to cling on as the home side threatened to come back from three goals down.
A first friendly victory away from home in 13 years was a dramatic one as Paddy McNair’s double, either side of a Jonny Evans effort, had Northern Ireland in charge before Vladimir Darida and Alex Kral struck two in two minutes to set up a nervy finish.
Michael O’Neill’s side hung on, though, to put the disappointment of Thursday’s late defeat in the Netherlands behind them. Their previous friendly win on the road was in Finland during 2006, a run of 22 games in which they had scored only two goals.
O’Neill made clear his intention to mix things up after back-to-back qualifying defeats as he turned to a 3-5-2 formation, with Tom Flanagan joining Evans and Craig Cathcart in defence, while Liam Boyce and Gavin Whyte spearheaded the attack. It looked the perfect decision as his team waltzed through the first half with 45 minutes of almost complete dominance.
McNair started it in the ninth minute, charging on to Boyce’s low cross and skipping past a defender before striking across Jiri Pavlenka. Midway through the half McNair turned provider as his corner caused chaos in the Czech box. Flanagan’s effort was blocked but the ball fell for Evans, who fired it into the roof of the net.
Seconds later Whyte met a fine ball from Jordan Thompson but was denied from close range. But it was only a temporary reprieve as McNair struck a third five minutes before the end of the half. Steven Davis’s long ball found the Middlesbrough man and he ran clear before rounding Pavlenka.
The game changed after the Czechs made four changes at half-time and they were back in it the 67th minute, when Darida’s rising shot through a crowded box was too hot for Michael McGovern. Then Kral strode forward and hit a second into the bottom corner to set up a tense finale. In stoppage time, McGovern saved Kral’s header on the line before being bundled over it in a minor melee, but the referee intervened and the Irish victory was safe.
