Northern Ireland beat Georgia 0-1 in the UEFA Liga das Nações with a goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time. It was the only score of the night, and the scorer was not listed in match data.

Match Summary

For most of the evening there was nothing on the scoreboard. Georgia and Northern Ireland went through the first half without a goal and remained level deep into the second. The hosts kept winning corners, but the match stayed 0-0 as the clock moved past the hour.

Northern Ireland then picked up two yellow cards in a short spell. Daniel Ballard was booked in the 64th minute, and Ciaron Brown followed in the 68th. Those cautions arrived with the game still goalless.

Added time finally produced the decisive passage. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Georgia and Justin Devenny of Northern Ireland were both shown yellow cards in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Northern Ireland then scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time. The scorer was not listed in match data, and that late goal set the official 0-1 result.

Key Moments

The stoppage-time winner was the swing that decided everything. Until then neither side had scored, so one late goal turned a draw into an away win and left Georgia with nothing to show for a stronger expected-goals return.

The bookings of Ballard and Brown mattered because they came in a four-minute window while the match was still 0-0. Northern Ireland had to see out the rest of the night with two players already cautioned, against a Georgia side that had taken almost all of the corners.

The yellow cards to Kvaratskhelia and Devenny in the fifth added minute showed how frantic the close had become. They did not change the score, but they framed the chaotic minutes immediately before Northern Ireland broke through.

Match Statistics

Georgia shaped more of the chance quality without converting it. The hosts recorded 1.62 expected goals to Northern Ireland's 1.04 and won the corners 9-1. Shots were closer: Northern Ireland attempted 12 to Georgia's 10, and both teams put five on target. Discipline ran the other way, with yellow cards 1-3 against the visitors and no red cards shown to either side. The figures describe a night Georgia led in dead-ball volume and chance quality, only to lose to a single late strike.

See also

• Georgia vs Northern Ireland live score
• AltBets live scores
• AltBets tips
• Match recaps