A Haris Seferovic penalty miss in the first half was the highlight of the fixture as the sides failed to find a breakthrough on the night.

It was Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s second save in as many qualification games after denying Lithuania a goal from the spot last week.

The on-loan Sheffield Wednesday keeper was the hero on the night for Ian Baraclough’s side as they held on for a draw against the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-finalists.

Switzerland dominated possession on a night that saw a near-capacity crowd return to the Belfast stadium.

However, the effect of the crowd did help to put pressure on the visitors throughout the match.

Swiss midfielder Fabian Frei picked up an early yellow card and earning himself a suspension after strong pressing from the home team.

Northern Ireland forward Shane Lavery found himself in clean air and looked set to score but could not provide the finishing touch after fashioning space for a shot.

However, Lavery and strike partner Conor Washington, although unable to give their side a goal, looked just as dangerous as they did against Lithuania.

The hosts’ sparkle soon faded as right-back Michael Smith was judged to have brought left winger Ruben Vargas down inside the box and a penalty was given.

However, number nine Haris Seferovic fluffed his lines from 12-yards out and Peacock-Farrell denied Murat Yakin’s Swiss side a goal – they have yet to score in a competitive game (and win a competitive game) under their new manager.

Liverpool full-back Connor Bradley impressed upon his introduction after assisting Shane Ferguson’s winner against Estonia at the weekend.

Baraclough’s Northern Ireland were defensively resilient with a noisy crowd behind them all the way but lacked the end product needed to collect all three points, while Switzerland failed to break them down and will rue a missed penalty.

Both sides will face each other again in the first game of the October international window at the Stade de Geneve in Switzerland on Saturday, October 9.

Northern Ireland (3-5-2): Peacock-Farrell; Ballard, Cathcart, Brown; Smith, McCann, Davis (C), Thompson, Lewis; Washington, Lavery.

Subs: Bradley, Flanagan, Saville, McGinn, Lafferty, Ferguson, Carson, Charles, Jones, White, McCalmont, Hazard.

Switzerland (4-3-3): Sommer (C); Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Freuler, Frei, Zakaria; Vargas, Seferovic, Fassnacht.

Subs: Garcia, Zeqiri, Steffen, Mvogo, Zuber, Sow, Lauper, Lotomba, Aebischer, Kobel, Schar, Zesiger.

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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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The two teams in Group C are in need of a win to chase Italy and Switzerland down, with Ian Baraclough’s side sitting third, five points off the play-off spot.

A 2-0 loss to a rotated Italian side before their European success and a goalless draw with Bulgaria are all Northern Ireland have to show for their efforts thus far.

Baraclough’s national side have only won one of their last 10 games – a 3-0 friendly win over Malta in June – and have been the lesser side when it comes to possession in each of them.

Their five-at-the-back setup is likely to be in use once again tonight but it will not be at full strength as their will be several absentees.

Leeds United star Stuart Dallas did not travel to Lithuania with the side for personal reasons and will not return for the Switzerland clash.

Hearts forward Liam Boyce misses out for family reasons.

Corry Evans joins his brother Jonny on the sidelines after straining his hamstring and Josh Magennis has been replaced in the squad by Kyle Lafferty after picking up a knock.

Craig Cathcart is a doubt for the Lithuania fixture but Baraclough has said that he expects the Watford defender to play.

Morecombe loanee Alfie McCalmont, whose parent club is Leeds, has been called up from the under-21s.

Stephen Donnelly returns from a long-term injury while Sunderland’s Tom Flanagan has also joined up with the squad.

Midfielder George Saville will miss the game through suspension but will be available for the side’s match against Switzerland.

Leicester first-team coach Adam Sadler, who joined Baraclough’s staff this week, will not be with the side for the September internationals due to a family bereavement.

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 (5-3-2): 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.

Odds

Lithuania 10/3

Draw 2/1

Northern Ireland 19/20

Where To Watch

Lithuania v Northern Ireland will kick-off at 7:45 pm Irish Standard Time. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 7:30 pm.

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