Northen Ireland v Poland: Not quite Poles apart, despite what the scoreline may suggest, and it might have been a different story in Limassol had Stuart Elliott not missed a great chance.
Poland ... 4
Northern Ireland ... 1
Northern Ireland were in the game at 2-1 down when Michael Hughes pulled the ball back to Elliott in the box but he shot straight at goalkeeper Radoslaw Majdan. Within six minutes, Poland scored twice more to make it 4-1.
Poland had blitzed Northern Ireland to race into a two-goal lead inside the first 11 minutes. Pawel Kryszalowicz looked offside when he lashed the ball home from the edge of the area and Radoslaw Kaluzny made it 2-0 soon after.
But McIlroy's side pulled a goal back in the 18th minute as Keith Gillespie swung over the corner from the right and Steve Lomas headed home.
After Elliott's miss, Kryszalowicz was on hand to knock home a rebound for his second of the night and two minutes later, Marcin Zewlakow scored with a first-time shot.
POLAND: Majdan (Bledzewski 90), Krzynowek, Jacek Bak, Michal Zewlakow (Rzasa 60), Waldoch, Kozminski, Swierczewski (Zdebel 46), Iwan (Smolarek 46), Kryszalowicz (Zielinski 82), Kaluzny (Arkadiusz Bak 46), Olisadebe (Marcin Zewlakow 46). Booked: Waldoch, Swierczewski. Goals: Kryszalowicz 6, Kaluzny 11, Kryszalowicz 67, Marcin Zewlakow 69.
NORTHERN IRELAND: Taylor, Kennedy (McCann 82), Griffin (McCartney 46), Aaron Hughes, Lomas, Johnson (McVeigh 66), Mulryne (Lennon 46), Magilton (Duff 82), Gillespie, Michael Hughes, Healy (Elliott 60). Subs Not Used: Ingham. Booked: Gillespie, Elliott. Goals: Lomas 18. Attendance: 221.
Referee: T Papaioannou (Cyprus).
