Soccer: Mcilroy praises supporters

Sammy McIlroy praised Northern Ireland's fans after the reception they gave Neil Lennon on his first return to Windsor Park since being booed by a tiny section of fans.

Lennon almost quit the international game because of the sectarian abuse, but there were only cheers for the Celtic man during the 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic.

McIlroy was delight they the response of the 10,000 crowd.

"Fantastic," said the Northern Ireland manager. "The crowd were 100% behind every player, Neil Lennon included.

"I didn't hear anything bad from the crowd and I thought they were fantastic. All the players responded to it."

McIlroy cursed the so-called luck of the Irish after his side twice hit the woodwork in the second half through Keith Gillespie and substitute Phil Gray.

The Czechs held out to win the World Cup group three qualifier through Pavel Nedved's 11-minute goal and McIlroy, leaving him cursing his luck.

"Where is the Irish luck, the luck of the Irish?" he said.

"We went for it and Phil Gray and Keith Gillespie were just unlucky to hit the woodwork.

"I've nothing but praise for the players and I thought everyone was absolutely magnificent.

"We deserved something out of the game and they got their little bit of luck for the first goal and it just ricocheted off a defender right for Nedved and he just finished it off.

"We never stopped for 90 minutes and you heard the reaction of the crowd at the end and for me that said it all.

"We were absolutely fantastic against one of the top three or four sides in the world and when do you ever see the Czechs hacking the ball away and kicking it 60 or 70 yards when under pressure? "