Rangers star Steven Davis was powerless to resist as Northern Ireland suffered late heartbreak against UEFA Nations League rivals Austria in Vienna.
The veteran Ulster midfielder ran through walls for his country on Thursday night as he left blood, sweat and tears on the field but couldn’t get Euro 2020 qualification over the line for his country.
There were fears about injury heading into this clash with Austria and Davo, 35, started on the bench as the Ulstermen looked to avenge the 2-1 AET defeat at Windsor Park.
Davis came on for only seven minutes in a tight game but it was long enough to see a later Northern Irish collapse in their penultimate Nations League Group B1 match.
Former Aberdeen and Killie striker Josh Magennis had Northern Ireland on their way to avenging the demons of last Thursday, breaking the deadlock with around 15 minutes to play.
But a late Austria rally left Northern Irish hearts broken as Davis’ side failed to hold on the closing stages of the match.
The lead only lasted seven minutes before Loris Schaub had the Austrians back on level terms with one-time reported Rangers target and Lorient striker Adrian Grbic grabbing the winner with three minutes to play.
The result leaves Northern Ireland rooked to the bottom of Nations League Group B1 with Ian Baraclough’s side set to play Romania in Belfast in their final group game on Wednesday.
