Healy gives Worthington winning start

DAVID Healy made sure that Nigel Worthington got off to a winning start as Northern Ireland manager last night.

The Fulham striker continued his remarkable scoring sequence to keep the North on course for the finals of the European Championship.

As Healy grabbed a brace with Kyle Lafferty also scoring his first competitive goal, they overtook Spain and moved into second place in Group F.

Liechtenstein were rewarded for their hard work a minute from time when Frick pulled a goal back after sloppy defensive play.

Meanwhile, debutant Freddy Eastwood scored in the first half to give Ireland’s Group D rivals Wales an impressive win over Bulgaria in Bourgas.

Boss John Toshack was stripped of the majority of his first choice side — but his battling outfit made sure of a victory which will do much for their confidence ahead of Germany’s visit to Cardiff.

Eastwood struck in first-half injury time, stunning the home side and their fans with a brilliant 20-yard effort.

Scotland sub Kris Boyd’s powerful 71st-minute strike gave Scotland victory over South Africa in their challenge match at Pittodrie. The Rangers striker had only been on the pitch for three minutes as a replacement for Kenny Miller when he took a clever pass from stand-in skipper Darren Fletcher and slammed the ball into the top corner from 14 yards out.

Norway received a boost ahead of their upcoming European qualifiers against Moldova and Greece with a John Carew-inspired 2-1 victory over Argentina in Oslo.

The Aston Villa striker scored in either half for the Scandinavians, the first coming from the penalty spot, with Maxi Rodriguez grabbing a late consolation for the South Americans.

Scotland’s Group B opponents Ukraine ran out 2-1 winners against Uzbekistan thanks to strikes from Olexander Gladkiy and Ruslan Rotan.

Lithuania, meanwhile, won 2-1 against lowly Turkmenistan.

Sweden, who top Group F ahead of Northern Ireland, closed out a 1-0 victory over the USA — Kim Kallstrom making the crucial intervention for the home team.

Spain, another team vying for qualification alongside Nigel Worthington’s side, ran out 3-2 winners over Greece. David Silva inspired the win with a pair of second-half strikes.

Poland came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against England’s Euro 2008 Group E qualification rivals Russia in a friendly in Moscow.

The hosts held what looked to be a comfortable 2-0 lead at the interval following strikes from Dmitri Sychev and Roman Pavlyuchenko.

But the Poles scored twice in four second-half minutes with Jacek Krzynowek and Jakub Blaszczykowski earning a share of the spoils.

Fellow qualification hopefuls Israel, who play Steve McClaren’s side four days before Russia, lost 2-1 to Belarus.

Italy, who along with France stand in the way of Scotland’s qualification hopes, suffered an unexpected 3-1 defeat by Hungary.

West Brom midfielder Zoltan Gera got the second goal for the victors from the penalty spot, while the world champions could only muster Antonio di Natale’s 49th-minute effort.

The French, meanwhile, had a more heartening result with Barcelona’s former Arsenal skipper Thierry Henry claiming the only goal of the match against the Republic of Ireland’s Group D opponents Slovakia.

There was one qualifier in that group, with Cyprus winning by a single goal over rock-bottom San Marino.

In a Group A qualifier, Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo showed his employers what they were missing during his ongoing suspension with the equalising goal against Armenia.

The winger’s 37th-minute goal saved Portugal’s blushes, but a 1-1 draw against the unfancied hosts still represents a poor return.