The Northerners got three vital points in the hunt for a World Cup Qualifier play-off spot in Group C without some of their most important players.

The match saw three penalties awarded, two of them going in the Green and White Army’s favour and both of those Northern Irish spot-kicks finding the net.

Daniel Ballard opened the scoring for Ian Baraclough’s side, who were searching for their second win in their last three games.

Ballard slotted in after a well-constructed move that led to striker Conor Washington playing a ball across goal for the defender.

Washington was instrumental in the final third for Northern Ireland, adding the second from the penalty spot and being the side’s focal point up top, creating several chances throughout the game.

His strike partner for the evening, Blackpool’s Shane Lavery struggled to take his chances in the first half, missing two gilt-edged chances that could have killed the game before the first 45 minutes had passed.

Lithuania grew into the game in the final ten minutes of the opening half and caused some trouble but could not find an equaliser before the referee halted proceedings.

Northern Irish full-back Michael Smith’s shot early in the second half struck the arm of Lithuanian defender Linas Megelaitis and after a check from referee Stephanie Frappart, a penalty was awarded.

Conor Washington slotted it in the left corner while Lithuanian goalkeeper Ernestas Setkus went the other way.

Northern Ireland finally had a cushion to depend on but it was thrown away minutes later when forward Rolandas Baravykas’ scintillating strike found the back of the Northern Irish net following a corner.

Several minutes later, Frappart awarded a penalty to the home side after a lengthy VAR check and it had appeared that the visitors had let their opponents back into the game.

Former Manchester United player Paddy McNair was given a yellow card for his foul in the box but his blushes were spared as Bailey Peacock-Farrell denied Novikovas.

Jordan Thompson, who combined well with Conor Washington in the attacking third on the night, assisted Shayne Lavery to get clear daylight for their side once again.

It was Lavery’s first goal in international football, which compliments his four goals in seven games for Blackpool this season.

The game began to fade as the result became clearer but Northern Ireland had another goal in them and when captain Steven Davis went down in the box, McNair stepped up to slot home their second penalty of the match to secure a win and an important three points for his side.

Next up for Northern Ireland is a visit to Estonia on Saturday, September 5 before a second World Cup Qualifier of the September internationals against Switzerland takes place on the night of Wednesday, September 8.

MOTM: Conor Washington (Northern Ireland)

Lineups

Lithuania (4-2-3-1): Setkus; Baravykas, Utkas, Satkus, Slavickus; Verbickas, Megelaitis; Novikovas, Chernykh, Lasickas; Dubickas.

Subs: Gertmonas, Klimavicius, Gaspuitis, Dapkus, Uzela, Jankauskas, Tutyskinas, Kazlauskas, Plukas, Barauskas, Vorobjovas.

Northern Ireland (4-4-2): Peacock-Farrell; Smith, Cathcart, Ballard, Lewis; McNair, Davis (C), Thompson, McCann; Lavery, Washington.

Subs: Donnelly, Carson, Flanagan, McCalmont, Lafferty, McGinn, Brown, Jones, Whyte, Charles, Hazard.

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Ronaldo’s two goals put him clear of Iran’s Ali Daei on the international goalscoring charts as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the all-time leading goalscorer at international level in front of a home crowd.

The Manchester United star had a 15th-minute penalty saved by Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu at the Estadio Algarve after the referee decided to stick with his on-field following a lengthy VAR check.

Yet, it was Ireland who took the lead after a 45th-minute header of their own courtesy of newly-crowned Ireland Men’s Senior International Player of the Year John Egan when he connected well with a Jamie McGrath corner.

Stephen Kenny’s side put in their best performance yet under his guidance with a clear identity present throughout a game in which Ireland frustrated their opponents.

Forwards Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly were often given the ball on counter-attacks with the pair of them using it to varying success.

Idah often used the channels to create space for himself and others while Connolly found it hard to shrug defenders off and missed several opportunities to play in teammates in better positions and shots on goal.

Seamus Coleman impressed throughout the game at right wing-back in Ireland’s 3-5-2 setup and ran up and down the right flank throughout the match, whether it be to offer support for Idah or create a chance in the box.

Coleman survived losing his wing-back spot after centre-half Dara O’Shea went off following a tackle gone wrong.

The West Bromwich Albion man was replaced by Norwich City’s Andrew Omibamidele, who performed well on his international debut.

On the opposite flank, Matt Doherty also impressed and put in a strong shift defensively to prove any doubters wrong about his selection in the team.

The Tottenham Hotspur defender was forced off the pitch momentarily in the second half but carried on to finish the game.

Josh Cullen was the fulcrum of the side, changing defence to attack with well-weighted passes and good vision.

The spaces left by midfielders Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, as well as full-backs Joao Cancelo and Raphael Guerreiro were exposed when Ireland went forward.

Kenny’s side were still able to fashion attacks as the game grew tenser and tenser in the second half but nothing came of them

Portugal’s open setup allowed them to pile on the pressure in the second-half and after several heroics from various members of the Ireland team, the gates were finally breached when Ronaldo rose high to head home past Gavin Bazunu, who had denied Portugal multiple times before.

Bazunu’s fantastic saves and calm presence inside his six-yard box had put Irish minds at ease many times previous in the game.

His penalty save in the first half gave his side some much-needed inspiration that pushed them on to give the UEFA Nations League holders a competitive game.

James McClean almost added a second while the Portuguese were still resetting their shape but couldn’t convert via the angle he shot from.

Six minutes into the five minutes of added time, Cristiano Ronaldo rose high once again and added his second of the game to steal all three points in the dying moments of the game.

The loss leaves Ireland without a point in Group A of the 2022 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers and seven points off second.

The side are six points behind third-placed Luxembourg and level with Azerbaijan.

They now must look towards Saturday’s game against Serbia, to whom they lost 3-2 in the reverse fixture.

Their performance against Portugal on Wednesday night can motivate Kenny and his squad if they can look past the manner in which the result slipped out of their hands.

If not, a bright performance in Faro could be forever disguised by a negative result.

Man of the Match: Gavin Bazunu (Republic of Ireland)

Portugal: Rui Patrício; Joao Cancelo (Goncalo Guedes 82), Pepe, Rúben Dias, Raphaël Guerreiro (Nuno Mendes 62); Joao Palhinha (Joao Moutinho 73), Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes (Joao Mario 62), Rafa Silva (Andre Silva HT), Diogo Jota, Cristiano Ronaldo (C).

Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu; Shane Duffy, John Egan, Dara O’Shea (Andrew Omobamidele 35); Seamus Coleman (C), Matt Doherty, Josh Cullen, Jeff Hendrick, Jamie McGrath (Jayson Molumby 90); Adam Idah (James Collins 90), Aaron Connolly (James McClean 72).

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Ireland will travel to Faro to take on Portugal at the Estádio Algarve on Wednesday, September 1 before returning to Ireland to take on Azerbaijan on Saturday, September 4 and Serbia on Tuesday, September 7 at the Aviva Stadium.

Enda Stevens, Callum O’Dowda, Jason Knight and Chiedozie Ogbene have all been ruled out through injury whilst West Bromwich Albion striker Callum Robinson tested positive for COVID-19 this week, and is currently in isolation.

Burnley defender Nathan Collins receives his first call-up to the senior squad whilst Jamie McGrath and Andrew Omobamidele keep their place in the squad after impressing in the summer camp in Andorra and Hungary.

Brighton and Hove Albion striker Aaron Connolly and Newcastle United midfielder Jeff Hendrick return to the squad having missed the summer international friendlies, with the squad set to fly out to Portugal on Sunday.

Republic of Ireland Squad

Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Gavin Bazunu (Portsmouth, on loan from Manchester City), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth)

Defenders: Seamus Coleman (Everton), Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Shane Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion), John Egan (Sheffield United), Dara O’Shea (West Bromwich Albion), Ryan Manning (Swansea City), James McClean (Wigan Athletic), Andrew Omobamidele (Norwich City), Nathan Collins (Burnley).

Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Anderlecht), Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle United), Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Harry Arter (Nottingham Forest), Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren), Jayson Molumby (Brighton and Hove Albion)

Attackers: Aaron Connolly (Brighton and Hove Albion), James Collins (Cardiff City), Daryl Horgan (Wycombe Wanderers), Adam Idah (Norwich City), Troy Parrott (MK Dons, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Shane Long (Southampton), Ronan Curtis (Portsmouth).

Fixtures

01/09 – Portugal v Republic of Ireland, Estádio Algarve, 7:45pm
04/09 – Republic of Ireland v Azerbaijan, Aviva Stadium, 5 pm
07/09 – Republic of Ireland v Serbia, Aviva Stadium, 7:45 pm

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