Holland score twice in injury time to deny Northern Ireland famous result

This was so close to being another of those famous nights for Northern Ireland and arguably Michael O’Neill’s finest result in charge.

Yet now O’Neill is facing a huge task to lift his heroic players after a shattering, gut-wrenching late defeat which leaves their hopes of reaching Euro 2020 hanging by a thread.

For 80 arduous minutes, it was a masterclass in defensive resilience and concentration from the Green and White Army, until the dam finally broke and Ronald Koeman’s previously underwhelming team scored three goals to inject renewed life into their own qualification campaign.

Holland have now won 17 games in a row at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium, yet it tells you everything about Northern Ireland’s brave, spirited performance that they will have departed Rotterdam with a sense of crushing disappointment.

For five minutes the unthinkable even appeared possible, as substitute Josh Magennis rose to head Northern Ireland into a 75th minute lead with their first genuinely threatening moment on their opponent’s goal.

Yet Memphis Depay equalised before adding another goal in added time after a close-range strike from substitute Luuk de Jong, denying Northern Ireland the unlikely point O’Neill had targeted before kick-off.

With this victory Holland lifted themselves above Germany and Northern Ireland into first place in Group C, ahead of the crucial return match in Belfast next month.

O’Neill said: “We’re devastated and it’s very harsh on us. The players know themselves, they knew the significance of a point and we’ve come away with nothing.

“We’ve now got to look at our final two games and win them both. We need six points and it’s going to be extremely difficult. The players gave everything they could, but ultimately it’s so disappointing in the end.

“The overriding emotion is that we’ve lost, we don’t want to pat ourselves on the back and say we played well. We are a team that’s proven we are difficult to play against but we want to be more than that.”

This defeat is certainly going to hurt, but Northern Ireland’s players can still hold their heads high. To even challenge such a talented Dutch team, including the likes of  Virgil Van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, only underlines the outstanding job O’Neill is doing.

With only three Premier League players in his squad here, and players picked from such remote football outposts as Burton, St Johnstone and Linfield, O’Neill’s work continues to astound.

It is almost four years ago to the day since the Green and White Army secured their place at Euro 2016, qualifying for their first major finals in three decades.

This was the first of a daunting double-header against Ronald Koeman’s Dutch team, under pressure themselves after missing out on Euro 2016 and last year’s World Cup.

Koeman had warned before kick-off that Northern Ireland were “fighting machines” and the visiting players lived up to that reputation.

Northern Irelands pressing was so high up the field that even the imperious Van Dijk and De Ligt were being forced into mistakes.

It was not until the 27th minute that Daley Blind, the former Manchester United defender, produced their first effort on goal, driving wide from inside the penalty area.

Northern Ireland were barely functioning in an attacking sense, and this was all about dogged defending and clearing the danger. Leicester’s Jonny Evans was outstanding all evening, once again proving he could play for any team in England’s top-four.

O’Neill’s men were living dangerously in the second period, but the moment nobody expected came 15 minutes from the end, sparking delirious celebrations from the noisy travelling support.

It was De Ligt, the £67.5 million Juventus defender, who made the mistake, misjudging Stuart Dallas’s cross and Magennis rose to nod the ball into the corner.

An away win would have virtually secured a place at next year’s finals but Holland’s pressure finally counted ten minutes from the end, with Memphis given too much space to poke the ball past Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

The goals from substitute Luuk De Jong and Memphis in injury time were a wretched blow, and O’Neill is now facing a monumental challenge in picking his players up for the rematch.

Teams

Holland (4-3-3): Cillesen 6; Dumfries 6 (L de Jong 78), De Ligt 5, Van Dijk 7, Blind 5; De Roon 5 (Van de Beek 66 5), Wijnaldum 6, F De Jong 5; Bergwijn 5, Memphis 6, Babel 5 (Malen 66 5).

Substitutes Vermeer (g), Bizot (g), Veltman, Ake, van de Beek, Promes, van Aanholt, de Vrij, Strootman, Berghuis.

Northern Ireland (4-5-1): Peacock-Farrell 7; Smith 7, Evans 9, Cathcart 8, Ferguson 7; Dallas 7, C Evans 7 (Flanagan 87), Davis 7, McNair 7, Saville 8 (Thompson 82); Lafferty 6 (Magennis 66).

Substitutes McGovern (g), Carson (g), McLaughlin, Donnelly, Ferguson, Whyte, McGinn, Kennedy, Boyce, Lavery. Booked: Peacock-Farrell, Evans.