Jordan Jones has been extremely short of playing time recently.
In fact, heading into Northern Ireland’s crucial Euro 2020 Qualifying fixture in Estonia on Saturday, his last appearance had come on 3 April away at Hibernian.
A shoulder injury and the fact he was primed to leave for Ibrox curtailed his club season with Kilmarnock. Therefore, Michael O’Neill opted against including him from the start in Tallinn.
Yet, when he was eventually introduced on 64 minutes, he showed no signs of rustiness.
He got straight to work and immediately caused problems for opposition right-back, Taijo Teniste.
His pace and directness are the two main assets he will bring to Ibrox next season, and Northern Ireland’s attacking threat increased markedly after his introduction.
There’s no doubt he’s still something of a rough diamond.
He doesn’t always make the right decisions in the final third and can be wasteful with his final pass. As we saw when he squandered a good opportunity in stoppage time, his finishing also needs to improve.
Game changer
Yet, he still shifted the dynamic of a huge game for Northern Ireland yesterday. When Conor Washington’s shot deflected in off Josh Magennis on 77 minutes, the visitors were back on level-pegging. However, with Germany and the Netherlands also in Group C, one point was never going to be enough.
Cue Jones’ telling contribution. He skipped past his marker before pulling the ball back for Josh Magennis to finish. An excellent assist and a tangible contribution to the cause.
His half an hour runout excited plenty of Rangers fans who reacted on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/bobstuartrfc/status/1137427430279405568
https://twitter.com/adairzo72/status/1137459797752725504
https://twitter.com/_IbroxLoyal/status/1137428593968128003
https://twitter.com/kierangilly18/status/1137416999464787968
