International friendly: Panama 0-0 Northern Ireland
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Michael O’Neill gave three players their international debuts as Northern Ireland drew 0-0 in Panama City.
Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell, midfielder Jordan Thompson and striker Shayne Lavery came on as substitutes against the World Cup-bound hosts.
O’Neill, who fielded a strong starting XI, praised his team’s display in sweltering conditions.
Panama’s Edgar Joel Barcenas came closest to scoring with a first-half header that came back off the crossbar.
The home supporters gave their team an enthusiastic send-off in what was the last home match before making their first appearance in a World Cup tournament.
Panama have a final friendly against Norway in Oslo on 6 June before heading to Russia where their group opponents are England, Belgium and Tunisia.
The hosts left captain Roman Torres on the bench, with the kick-off delayed by 10 minutes due to a host of pre-game ceremonies, including a lengthy firework display.
In the absence of regular leader Steven Davis, West Brom defender Jonny Evans was Northern Ireland’s skipper.
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He was pushed up into midfield in a side that also featured veteran defender Aaron Hughes who was winning his 111th cap.
“We did not have much time to acclimatise and the conditions were difficult for us,” said Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill.
“We would have liked to have had more scoring opportunities, but our goalkeeper was not too busy either so I think the draw was fair.
“It would have been nice to win but we probably didn’t do enough to deserve that.”
Northern Ireland will continue their preparation for the new Uefa Nations League and Euro 2020 qualifiers when they face Costa Rica in San Jose on Sunday.
Line-ups
Panama
- 12Calderón
- 17Ovalle
- 4Escobar
- 23Baloy
Substituted forTorresat 76′minutes - 13Machado
- 6Gómez
Substituted forPimentelat 45′minutes - 8Bárcenas
- 20Godoy
Substituted forAvilaat 46′minutes - 11Cooper
Substituted forCamargoat 45′minutes - 22Rodriguez
Substituted forNurseat 60′minutes - 18Tejada
Substituted forPérezat 46′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Rodríguez
- 2Murillo
- 3Cummings
- 5Torres
- 7Pérez
- 9Torres
- 10Avila
- 14Pimentel
- 16Arroyo
- 21Nurse
- 24Camargo
- 25Diaz
Northern Ireland
- 1Carson
Substituted forPeacock-Farrellat 45′minutes - 18Hughes
- 4McAuley
- 20Cathcart
- 3Ferguson
Substituted forSmythat 72′minutes - 13Evans
Substituted forThompsonat 82′minutes - 17McNair
- 5Evans
- 14Dallas
Substituted forHodsonat 59′minutes - 10Boyce
Substituted forMcLaughlinat 72′minutes - 21Magennis
Substituted forLaveryat 88′minutes
Substitutes
- 6Hodson
- 7Whyte
- 8Smyth
- 9McCartan
- 11Lavery
- 12Peacock-Farrell
- 15McCullough
- 16Thompson
- 19McLaughlin
- 23Hazard
- Referee:
- Henry Bejarano
- Attendance:
- 26,000
Live Text
Match ends, Panama 0, Northern Ireland 0.
Full Time
Second Half ends, Panama 0, Northern Ireland 0.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Shayne Lavery replaces Josh Magennis.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Jordan Thompson replaces Corry Evans.
Substitution
Substitution, Panama. Román Torres replaces Felipe Baloy.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Ryan McLaughlin replaces Liam Boyce.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Paul Smyth replaces Shane Ferguson.
Substitution
Substitution, Panama. Roberto Nurse replaces Jose Luis Rodriguez.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Lee Hodson replaces Stuart Dallas.
Substitution
Substitution, Panama. Ricardo Avila replaces Aníbal Godoy.
Substitution
Substitution, Panama. Blas Pérez replaces Luis Tejada.
Substitution
Substitution, Panama. Valentín Pimentel replaces Gabriel Gómez.
Substitution
Substitution, Panama. Miguel Camargo replaces Armando Cooper.
Second Half
Second Half begins Panama 0, Northern Ireland 0.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Bailey Peacock-Farrell replaces Trevor Carson.
Half Time
First Half ends, Panama 0, Northern Ireland 0.
Kick Off
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
