World Cup qualifier: Northern Ireland v Slovakia
Venue: Windsor Park Date: Wednesday, 9 September Kick-off: 1945 BST Coverage: Live on Radio Ulster FM and medium wave and Radio Ulster website, live text commentary online and score updates on BBC Radio 5 Live, highlights on BBC1 NI 2315 BST

Sammy Clingan is confident of beating Slovakia at Windsor Park

Sammy Clingan believes Northern Ireland can beat leaders Slovakia in Belfast on Wednesday night and move top of their World Cup qualifying group.

Northern Ireland sit two points adrift in second after an impressive 1-1 draw in Poland on Saturday.

"There is good camaraderie in the camp and the confidence is growing," said the Coventry City midfielder.

"It should be another special night - hopefully we can put a good performance in and get the right result."

The point gained in Chorzow means Northern Ireland are unbeaten in five competitive matches.

Nigel Worthington's side has made up ground after a poor start, in which they lost 2-1 to Slovakia in the opening game.

"It would be great to beat them and get our own back," added the 25-year-old Clingan.

"This is probably the biggest game I have been involved in, given what is at stake.

"To get to the World Cup would be unreal. It is what dreams are made of."

He added: "But we all know it is going to be a hard shift against Slovakia.

"There is a lot of belief in the squad and to take four points off Poland is something we would have accepted at the beginning of the campaign.

"Teams can also be a bit intimidated when they come to Windsor Park - the fans get right behind us and the players really appreciate that."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version