Devlin winner puts Northern Ireland within a draw of Nations League promotion

Terry Devlin scored his first international goal as Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 1-0 on Saturday to retain the lead in Nations League Group B2. Sky Sports reported that the result leaves Michael O'Neill's side needing a draw in Hungary on Tuesday to secure promotion to League A.

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Devlin struck from distance in the 68th minute after Ethan Galbraith supplied him following a corner. Goalkeeper Pierce Charles protected the lead with a late save from Danylo Sikan. Earlier, Jamie Donley had a goal disallowed for offside, while Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin denied both Donley and Shea Charles in quick succession.

The victory extended a campaign built on defensive consistency. UEFA's results record shows Northern Ireland opened with a 1-0 away win over Georgia on 25 September, then drew 0-0 at home to Hungary three days later. Those results gave them four points from their opening two matches without conceding a goal, before October brought another away success.

That came against Ukraine on 2 October, when Northern Ireland won 3-0. The Irish FA's report of that meeting credited Ciaron Brown with two goals and Isaac Price with the other. The match was played in Slovakia because Ukraine cannot stage its home internationals in its own country amid the war.

UEFA lists a subsequent 0-0 home draw against Georgia on 5 October, completing Northern Ireland's first four fixtures. Saturday's result therefore takes their record to three wins and two draws, with five goals scored and none conceded. They now have 11 points from five of their six fixtures. It also ends a sequence of two goalless home matches in this group, with the final fixture taking them back on the road.

Hungary had beaten Georgia 2-0 earlier on Saturday, but Northern Ireland's win restored them to first place, according to Sky Sports. Defeat in Budapest would still leave them with a promotion play-off in March. O'Neill and Donley will be suspended for Tuesday after receiving late yellow cards against Ukraine.