Northern Ireland 3 - 3 Finland: Martin Paterson secures a draw to cheer Michael O’Neill

Published on 16/08/2012 02:40

Martin Paterson’s late penalty kick secured a draw for Northern Ireland in an entertaining friendly at Windsor Park.

A Shane Ferguson volley and near-post finish from Kyle Lafferty put the hosts 2-0 ahead, but Finland were soon level. Tim Sparv headed in before Teemu Pukki pounced on a Chris Brunt error to equalise after 24 minutes. A free-kick from Perparim Hetemaj gave Finland a deserved lead but Paterson levelled six minutes from time after winning the spot-kick.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was happy with the spirit his side showed at Windsor Park. “We started the game well and we scored two goals. It was a great finish from Shane (Ferguson) and a good piece of play from Dean Shiels and Kyle Lafferty for the second goal as well,” he said.