Sanchez left to stew over another loss

Lawrie Sanchez is facing up to two months of agonising over how he can turn around Northern Ireland fortunes.

They ended the first part of their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 defeat in Warsaw last night.

Poland secured the points with three minutes to go when Maciej Zurawski headed home following a corner from Miroslaw Szymkowiak.

Northern Ireland are now stuck on three points from six games and don’t regroup until June when they face Germany in a friendly.

The next qualifier is not until September when they entertain Azerbaijan.

Sanchez admitted: “Having to wait a few months for the next game after a defeat is the most frustrating part of the job.”

Yet there was much to admire in the way the Irish went about their business.

Goalkeeper Maik Taylor followed up his superb display against England at the weekend by again making a string of fine saves.

He was tested in the fifth minute when he did well to tip over a powerful 25-yard free-kick from Zurawski.

James Quinn, who later went off with a back spasm, then fired in a volley that was heading for the top corner but Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek reacted superbly to turn the shot away.

That got the Northern Ireland fans going following good work from Chris Baird and Keith Gillespie in the build-up.

Poland again found themselves on the back foot in the 17th minute when they conceded a free-kick 30 yards out.

However, David Healy’s shot eluded everyone and drifted narrowly wide of the post with Quinn just failing to get a vital touch.

Considering their record in the group, Northern Ireland were playing with no little confidence.

Taylor came to the rescue in the 26th minute when he somehow managed to parry a header from Zurawski following a cross from Marcin Baszczynski.

Three minutes later Taylor made another fine save when he scooped away a close-range shot by Jacek Krzynowek.

This was a worrying time for Northern Ireland and Aaron Hughes booted the ball clear after an inswinging cross from Bartosz Karwan.

Poland were beginning to raise the tempo and Tomasz Frankowski found space in the area after 53 minutes.

He fired in a shot but Hughes stood his ground to make a crucial block.

Taylor had to be on the alert in the 56th minute when Jacek Bak tried to lob him from the halfway line.

He wasn’t far away either, with the Birmingham shot-stopper blocking his effort with a bit of difficulty.

Taylor was again called into action after 61 minutes and wasn’t found wanting, getting down quickly to smother a shot from Karwan.

Sebastian Mila was drafted in after 67 minutes and got quickly into the action when firing in a shot a minute later.

Taylor, not for the first time in the game, stay focussed and made the block. He then turned away a shot from Frankowski after he had been released by Mila in the 72nd minute.

Then came the winner from Zurawski and it was a cruel blow for Northern Ireland who had defended so stoutly.

Sanchez was left disconsolate, saying: “If you are being hard and objective, we shot ourselves in the foot again. We were naïve.

“We had a bang-to-rights 0-0 and were giving a solid performance. Then we concede a goal like that. I feel for the players. They worked their socks off.”