A lifetime of after-dinner speeches, ribbon cutting and TV appearances await goalscorers Gareth Macauley and Niall McGinn after Northern Ireland’s heroics last night, but not before Michael O’Neill’s side pushes on for a crack at Euro 2016’s knockout stages.

It was only 6.30am last Monday when one Northern Ireland fan, still very much the worse for wear after a night that may not have ended, spotted a couple of guys from south of the border wearing their different shades of green and felt the urge to cover the length of the train station concourse in Nice in less time than an Olympic sprinter to have his say, writes Brendan O’Brien.