MICHAEL ONEILL watched football immortality come and go in fifteen mad minutes.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland were clinging onto a hard-earned point having taken the lead - only to succumb in injury time.<\/p>\n
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Defeat means ONeills team now slip to third place in Group C leaving their Euro 2020 qualifying hopes hanging by a thread.<\/p>\n
Boss ONeill reckoned he needed four points from back-to-back qualifiers against the Dutch to stand any chance of making it to next summers finals.<\/p>\n
For five minutes his tiny nation were on course for their biggest win since the beating Spain in 2006 after Josh Magennis gave them a shock lead.<\/p>\n
The Hull City striker had only been on the pitch for nine minutes when he headed home from inside the box after a cock-up in defence between Daley Blind and Matthijs de Ligt.<\/p>\n
With 15 minutes to go it appeared as if ONeills defensive masterplan would hold out - only to see his team crumble.<\/p>\n
And it was former Manchester United flop Memphis Depay who made them pay with two goals as they ran out of steam and the sloppy Dutch finally woke up.<\/p>\n
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Depay equalised in the 80th minute and scored his countrys third four minutes into injury time to seal what on paper looks like a routine night.<\/p>\n
Substitute Luuk de Jong scored in between, one minute into stoppage time as Northern Irish resistance faded.<\/p>\n
ONeill knew he faced a huge task to get anything from the team ranked 13 in the world at a stadium where they have won 16 games on the spin.<\/p>\n
But for a spell it looked as if he might be able to face Holland at Windsor Park next month with a chance to upset the odds and cling onto the all-important second place.<\/p>\n
Magennis goal was Northern Irelands only shot on target all night and it was the forwards first goal of any kind this season.<\/p>\n
ONeills plan was to soak up Dutch pressure and hit on the counter attack and it seemed to be working a treat.<\/p>\n
Holland dominated possession and the number of chances in front of goal but also missed a string of opportunities to take the lad and make it a more comfortable night.<\/p>\n
Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum had a thunderous shot black in the first half and he also blazed over the bar in the second.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse for Northern Ireland, Holland go to whipping boys Belarus on Sunday where they should stretch their lead even further over ONeills team.<\/p>\n
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Original post:<\/p>\n
Holland 3 Northern Ireland 1: Depay inspires Dutch comeback to sink underdogs who were on verge of shock Euro - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MICHAEL ONEILL watched football immortality come and go in fifteen mad minutes. Northern Ireland were clinging onto a hard-earned point having taken the lead - only to succumb in injury time. 4 4 Defeat means ONeills team now slip to third place in Group C leaving their Euro 2020 qualifying hopes hanging by a thread. Continue reading