Filed under: Euro 2012, Football, Match Reports
Nigel Worthington's Northern Ireland paid the price for lacking adventure as their Euro 2012 ambitions suffered a further setback in a drab stalemate in Belfast.Needing to defeat Slovenia to give themselves a realistic chance of clinching runners-up spot in Group C, Ireland rarely looked up to the task.
Sammy Clingan went close from a free kick while Gareth McAuley, who was a rare positive on another disappointing night, had a second half effort cleared off the line.
Yet that is as good as it got for Northern Ireland, who have now won just two of their last 18 games.
Having lost away to Serbia four days earlier, Worthington's team needed to win. But a scrappy and largely uneventful first half set the the tone on what was a bitterly frustrating night at Windsor Park.
Their best chance came from a 42nd minute set piece by Clingan, the Coventry midfielder, who delivered a curling 20-yard free kick which whistled narrowly wide of the target.
By then Lee Camp, who produced a stunning late stop to deny substitute Zlatko Dedic, had twice prevented the visitors from breaking the deadlock.
The Nottingham Forest keeper had already kept out Marko Suler's sixth minute volley when he produced an excellent save to deny Palermo's Josip Ilicic.
It was easy to see why Slovenia had lost only one Euro qualifier away from home in four years as the visitors continued to carve out the better chances after the break.
Yet McAuley almost snatched a 66th minute winner with a powerful header which Matej Mavric did well to clear off the line before Chris Brunt narrowly failed to divert Corry Evans' 81st minute low cross over the line.
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