Rangers ace Steven Davis came agonisingly close to helping Northern Ireland pull off an historic win over the Netherlands on Thursday evening.
The 34-year-old skippered his country for the Euro 2020 Qualifying clash in Rotterdam and became the third most-capped Home Nations outfield player of all time, behind Wayne Rooney and David Beckham.
Davis and co. worked tirelessly to keep their star-studded hosts at bay, before, in the 75th minute, substitute Josh Magennis got on the end of an excellent Stuart Dallas cross, to head his side into an unlikely lead.
Yet, they weren’t able to hold on to their slender advantage.
Lyon winger Memphis Depay restored parity five minutes later before Sevilla’s Luuk de Jong fortuitously won the game in the first minute of injury time. Then, to add insult to injury, Depay notched his second in the 94th minute.
“Yeah, I think it was a big opportunity for us missed tonight,” Davis told BBC Sport NI after the game. “It’s a little bit frustrating when we put so much into the game, there’s so many positive to take from it, but ultimately, once again, we haven’t got the result.”
A disappointing night for the skipper, then, but another excellent performance from the in-form man which drew plenty of praise on social media.
Here’s a selection of reactions to his display from Twitter:
https://twitter.com/craigtaylor_72/status/1182384075476258818
https://twitter.com/AdamGlover1872/status/1182386592180297733
https://twitter.com/sjs_72/status/1182386800200957952
https://twitter.com/gaz_ad1/status/1182390669194739715
https://twitter.com/Alan50583050/status/1182391334163959808
Northern Ireland now look highly unlikely to secure either of the two automatic qualification spots from Group C, but could still earn a place in the play-offs. For those interested, here’s a rundown on the potential permutations, from the Belfast Telegraph.
Michael O’Neill will hope to have Gers winger Jordan Jones back fit for the remaining fixtures at home to the Dutch and away to Germany.
