Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington took few positives from last night's 2-0 defeat to Hungary at Windsor Park but the performance of Derry City debutant Niall McGinn was the exception.
Without the likes of Aaron Hughes, Steven Davis and George McCartney, Northern Ireland were off the pace from the start and former Norwich boss Worthington complained that a number of players looked unfit for duty and that the performance was "embarrassing".
"They have got to do extra work themselves," he said. "That drive has got to come from them.
"There was not enough physical strength and energy in their play. That was obvious."
Fresh from picking up the PFAI Young Player of the Year award, McGinn played 30 minutes as a second half substitute
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder savoured the occasion, if not the result, and was thrilled by the reception given to him by the crowd
"I'd like to thank the fans for the support and encouragement they gave me last night. They were first class," said the former Tyrone under-21 player. "I was a wee bit nervous as I was warming up but thank God, I got a good reception when I came on. I felt great after that.
"I only expected about 10 or 15 minutes but I got over half an hour, which was brilliant. That gave me the confidence to relax, get on the ball and take players on, which is what my game is all about.
"The manager said some good things about me after the game and told me I had done well, which was great. I just hope I can stay in the squad for the next game."
To complete a miserable night for Northern Ireland they found themselves tumbling to second bottom in their World Cup qualifying group.
The Czech Republic are up and running after a hard-fought 3-0 victory against San Marino and now trail leaders Slovakia by two points thanks to taking full advantage of their game in hand.
Northern Ireland's next qualifier is in February when they will be looking to complete the double over San Marino.
Even though San Marino have yet to win a competitive game, they are showing signs of improvement. The Czechs did not make the breakthrough until the second half when Radoslav Kovac opened the scoring.
San Marino folded after that with Zdenek Pospech and substitute Tomas Necid finding the target.
