Michael O’Neill happy as Czech Republic allow Northern Ireland off the hook

Czech Republic 0, Northern Ireland 0: Northern Ireland took a point from their opening World Cup qualifier as Filip Novak’s stunning miss let Michael O’Neill’s side snatch a 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic.

Two years on from a victory in Hungary which kickstarted their run to the Euro 2016 finals, the feel-good buzz accrued from featuring in France this summer evaporated somewhat with a stalemate against the equally underwhelming Czechs.

Boss O’Neill may be satisfied with a share of the spoils, a return they only got due to Novak’s mystifying second-half close-range blunder, but the manner of performance suggested there is plenty to do if they are to reach Russia in 2018.