Northern Ireland 1-1 Portugal Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Ronaldo races past N.Ireland's defences
Perhaps there was no post-match carnival on the streets of Belfast after Northern Ireland drew 1-1 with Portugal in last night's friendly.
But as a sea of green poured out of Windsor Park, spirits were high and the back of the north stand was filled with hearty chants of "Healy's Away in a Manger".
There was also the over-riding feeling that the boys did good.
Wing wizard Cristiano Ronaldo didn't get much of a chance to strut his stuff while he remained on the pitch, despite earlier warnings to the home squad that Portugal was here to win.
Despite a Stephen Craigan own goal shortly after the 40-minute mark, man-of-the-match Warren Feeney saved the day for Northern Ireland on 53 minutes with a looping header to level the score.
As ardent fans stood waiting by the team coach outside the stadium after the game, hoping for a glimpse of Lawrie Sanchez's green and white brigade, there was vociferous support for last night's performance with the majority of fans claiming that confidence was on the rise.
"Northern Ireland may have been underdogs, but we came away with a result," Richard Small said.
"It's not bad to draw against a team ranked eighth in the world when you're missing four of your best players.
"The charge of the green and white brigade proved too much for Portugal in the end."
Fans who had come from across the province were more than happy with the result.
Meanwhile, a group of Belfast girls also enjoyed themselves.
"It was good to see Ronaldo's legs," said Nia Campbell.
