North can look to future with a new-found confidence, says Hughes

AARON HUGHES believes Northern Ireland can go on and qualify for a major championship in the not too distant future. The 23-year-old Newcastle defender led the celebrations on the pitch and in the dressing room after captaining his country for the fourth time.

Northern Ireland looked street-wise in Donetsk, even though nine of the team that started the game were under 30. They defended in numbers from front to back in this European Championship qualifier to frustrate Ukraine and pick up only their third point in Group Six.

At the final whistle the players hugged each other and swapped high-fives - and the party atmosphere continued all the way back to Belfast.