Celtic manager Neil Lennon made four changes to his side for their William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round clash against Inverness at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

Wales 2 Northern Ireland 0

Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland

Johnny Gorman made his first competitive start for Northern Ireland as Nigel Worthington’s side attempted to extend their unbeaten run in Group C to four matches in a deserted Crvena Zvezda Stadium.

IT might be a matter of interest only to the most zealous of statisticians, but the Republic of Ireland and Scotland are joint top of the Carling Nations Cup table this morning after Craig Levein’s team comfortably saw off the feeble challenge of a weakened Northern Ireland side at the Aviva Stadium last night.

Scotland 3 Northern Ireland 0

Inverness youngster Nick Ross has been dropped to the bench in favour of attacker Eric Odhiambo for the visit of Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders Rangers.

GEORGIOS Samaras helped himself to a hat-trick as Celtic brushed past Inverness with ease in their Co-operative Insurance Cup third-round tie at Parkhead.

Celtic 6 Inverness 0

Paddy McCourt was handed an immediate chance to prove he can help fill the void created by Aiden McGeady’s departure to Spartak Moscow as Celtic manager Neil Lennon started with the winger at Inverness.

Promising Everton defender Shane Duffy is one of three uncapped players in the Northern Ireland squad to face Albania in a friendly in Tirana on March 3.

Burnley striker Martin Paterson has been drafted into the Northern Ireland starting line-up for their crucial World Cup qualifier against Slovakia at Windsor Park tonight.

Northern Ireland 1 Israel 1

The Northern Ireland squad to face Israel in a friendly at Windsor Park on August 12 has been announced today.

Italy 3 Northern Ireland 0

Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington handed out four new caps in his starting XI with Chris Casement, Colin Coates, Corry Evans and Stephen Carter all lining up for the first time in a largely inexperienced team to face Italy.

Northern Ireland supporters’ chief Gary McAllister believes fans in Pisa for the friendly with Italy tomorrow will have a safe and enjoyable experience.

Partick 0 Rangers 2

EVEN Kris Boyd could not see Rangers safely through to the last four of the Scottish Cup as Partick Thistle earned a well-deserved draw at Ibrox last night.