More woes for Northern Ireland with Kazakhstan defeat

Northern Ireland's Euro 2024 qualifying misery continued as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Kazakhstan after the long trip to Astana.

It was a fifth consecutive defeat in this campaign, and the fourth time in the last five Michael O’Neill’s injury-ravaged side have been unable to muster a goal.

Kazakhstan put the first nail in the coffin of Northern Ireland’s qualifying hopes with their smash-and-grab 1-0 win in Belfast in June, and added another here with Maxim Samorodov’s 27th-minute strike enough to take three points.

Northern Ireland can only envy the progress of a side ranked 40 places below them, with this Kazakhstan’s fourth win in Group H, keeping them in the thick of the qualification fight.

O’Neill has more than enough capital – both within the dressing room and beyond it – to avoid coming under pressure, but this losing run and the injury crisis which has contributed to it are becoming a real test of Northern Ireland’s resolve.

The qualifying campaign has gone so wrong the Green and White Army might even be looking forward to next year’s Nations League – a competition which has rarely warmed Northern Irish hearts.

This was another match where little separated the sides – with Northern Ireland having more of the ball and more shots – but O’Neill’s men did not get the rub of the green on the Astana Arena’s artificial surface.

O’Neill promised adjustments to make his side more compact after Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Slovenia but as they tightened up Kazakhstan were able to frustrate the visitors, with nothing like the same attacking vigour seen against Slovenia on show.

George Saville’s ambitious second-minute strike was as close as Northern Ireland got to goal in the opening half-hour as Conor McMenamin, the star of the show