Brown scores two as superb Northern Ireland stun Ukraine

By admin — In News — October 2, 2026

   ​UEFA Nations LeagueUkraine 0 – 3 Northern Ireland FTNorthern Ireland produced one of their best away performances under manager Michael O’Neill to beat Ukraine 3-0 in Slovakia in the Nations League.Ciaron Brown opened the scoring with his first international goal and Isaac Price headed home a second in a superb first half for Northern Ireland.Brown scored his second of the game in bizarre circumstances in the 61st minute when goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk missed his header from the edge of the area and the ball rolled in.The win maintains Northern Ireland’s unbeaten start to the Nations League, and they top Group B2 with two wins and a draw from their three matches.They can end the opening set of four games unbeaten if they avoid defeat against Georgia at Windsor Park on Monday.After picking up their first away win in the Nations League in Tbilisi, Jamie Donley and Terry Devlin had half chances as O’Neill’s side made a bright start.The breakthrough came when Kieran Morrison’s corner was headed back across goal by Ruairi McConville, and defensive partner Brown reacted quickest to poke the ball over the line.The visitors’ dream start continued with a superb, flowing move, which ended in Morrison’s cross being met by Price’s powerful header – an 11th international goal for the 23-year-old.Ukraine, for their part, were restricted to long-range efforts in the opening 45 minutes through Heorhiy Sudakov and Eduard Sarapiy, and captain Trai Hume had an effort blocked by Illia Zabarnyi in the final minute of the half.Mykola Matviyenko and Sudakov had half chances for Ukraine after the restart but the match was sealed with 29 miutes left when Brown flicked on a free-kick and Riznyk came racing out of his goal but missed the ball, which trickled over the line.Matviy Ponomarenko’s effort was deflected onto the post by Tom Atcheson as Ukraine looked for a response, but three goals and a clean sheet made it a dream night for Northern Ireland.O’Neill’s side are three points clear of Hungary and Ukraine at the top of League B2, while Georgia are bottom on one point.Analysis – The perfect away performanceWhile the fixture drew recollections and memories of the Euro 2016 finals for fans and the media as the sides met competitively for the first time in 10 years, O’Neill was adamant that his focus was on the future and the new generation of players writing their own history.That was reflected in his selection as he handed 19-year-old winger Morrison his first competitive start, while the average age of the starting team was just 22 – the youngest for Northern Ireland on record since World War Two.It was fitting for Brown, the oldest player in the starting XI at 28, to find the opener with his first international goal in the ninth minute.The Oxford United defender, who has been quietly superb in this international window, managed to poke the ball home off the upright from McConville’s knockdown.Morrison, on loan at Sheffield Wednesday from Liverpool, rewarded O’Neill’s f