Worthington hails his ‘super’ players

The province finished fourth in Group Three after a 0-0 draw against the Czech Republic at the Synot Tip Arena.

Worthington was delighted with the response of his team, after the home defeat by Slovakia effectively ended their hopes of progressing.

He said: ‘‘It has been a good campaign for us overall and I think we can take a lot of positives away.

‘‘We did drop our guard against Slovakia and I have said if you don’t treat the game with respect, it can kick you in the teeth, and that is what happened.

‘‘But I asked for a big performance and the players didn’t let me down. I knew if they performed, they would get a result and we certainly deserved it.

‘‘There is no point in looking back and asking, ‘What might have been for this campaign?’.

‘‘I only want to look forward.

The players have been super and the staff have been first class throughout also.

The supporters, home and away, have been amazing as always.’’ Northern Ireland could have sealed a victory, only for Petr Cech to turn Niall McGinn’s effort around the post in the 41st minute.

It was McGinn’s first start for the province and Worthington singled out the Celtic midfielder for praise.

He said: ‘‘I thought little Niall McGinn was fantastic.

He was a breath of fresh air for us. His running at the Czech defence caused them all sorts of problems.

‘‘It is terrific to have him on board. I wasn’t at all surprised at his impact on the game because I am well aware of what he is capable of. He has been around the squad throughout the campaign.’’ The Czechs could not break Northern Ireland down and goalkeeper Maik Taylor showed that despite his lack of first-team action at Birmingham, he remains a key player for his national team at the age of 38.

Worthington said: ‘‘A clean sheet always gives you a chance, especially on the road. We have been good at home but those performances must go hand-in-hand with the away games if you want to go places.

‘‘I was delighted with our passing and all in all it was a super performance and a great result.’’ ■ Spain striker Alvaro Negredo hopes his performance in last night’s 5-2 defeat of Bosnia-Herzegovina will help further his claims for a place in Vicente del Bosque’s final squad for next summer’s World Cup finals.

Negredo was only called into the Spain party for their final two qualifiers against Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina due to injuries to David Villa and Fernando Llorente, but the Sevilla hitman has given Del Bosque some food for thought with a fine display in Zenica.

Making his first start up front for Spain, Negredo netted twice and also set up two other goals for David Silva.