Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 3-0 in Nations League as O'Neill hails young side

Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 3-0 in Trnava, Slovakia on Friday night in the Nations League, moving to the top of their group with seven points from three games. Michael O'Neill's starting XI had an average age of 22 — the youngest on record for Northern Ireland since World War Two — with Oxford defender Ciaron Brown the only starter over the age of 25.

O'Neill spent the build-up to the match playing down memories of Northern Ireland's famous win at Euro 2016 and said his focus was firmly on what was to come rather than reflecting on the past. Only Sweden and France had beaten Ukraine in the past 12 months, and Northern Ireland can now be added to that list. While the victory may not be quite as memorable as the 2-0 'Kings of Lyon' success 10 years ago at the Euros, it was extremely impressive.

Oxford's Ciaron Brown opened the scoring in the ninth minute from Ruairi McConville's knockdown. Nineteen-year-old Kieran Morrison, handed a first start by O'Neill, supplied the cross for Isaac Price to double the lead, and Brown's second, a header that evaded goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk, arrived with roughly 30 minutes remaining. Brown's two strikes were his first two Northern Ireland goals.

Brown formed part of a back-five that produced a third consecutive clean sheet, with Brodie Spencer and Terry Devlin drafted in at the full-back positions and both earning praise. McConville and Tom Atcheson, Brown's centre-back partners, were singled out for strong performances; Norwich City defender McConville, 21, commanded his area and provided the assist before allowing the ball to trickle over the line rather than touch it home. Atcheson, 20, who plays for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, made his Northern Ireland debut in Wales in March and showed composure.

O'Neill described McConville and Atcheson as "terrific" as he told BBC Sport: "They have no ceiling, to be honest. "They are both playing in the Championship at the minute but they are ready to go to the next level. "They will make mistakes at times and we've put a lot on them in terms of the physicality. The two of them were brilliant."

O'Neill was also fulsome in his praise for Brown and his leadership in the absence of injured Sunderland defender Dan Ballard. "Three 90 minutes at this level is tough," said O'Neill of the 28-year-old. "He plays his club football in League One and he's a better player than that. "He brings a lot to the team. He was our most senior player tonight and he has really grown into that."

The squad were missing other regulars, including Ethan Galbraith and Liverpool defender Conor Bradley, while Justin Devenny started on the bench. Former international Stephen Craigan, on co-commentary in Slovakia, described the result as potentially "a seismic night" for a young group; Northern Ireland had not won an away Nations League match before Shea Charles' 99th-minute winner in Georgia, and this was their biggest away success in five years.

With four goals scored and none conceded, Northern Ireland sit three points clear of Hungary and Ukraine at the top of League B2 and will host Georgia at Windsor Park on Monday night; if they end the current quadruple-header unbeaten they will head into November's final two matches on a high. Topping the group would seal promotion to League A for the first time, and mean Northern Ireland will be in a five-team group for Euro 2028 qualification, with a potential fall-back of a play-off should the campaign go awry.

"There is a big togetherness in a young group," said the 23-year-old Price. "We're loving it and we love coming away. It's about building momentum and we're doing that."