Niall McGinn just fails to open the scoring in Prague

Niall McGinn said he was happy with his first full competitive 90 minutes in a Northern Ireland shirt in the 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic in Prague.

"I managed to get a few early touches to boost my confidence and I thought I did reasonably well," said McGinn.

"I have to thank the manager for giving me a start and Petr Cech made a good save to deny me in the first half.

"We have a strong squad and can learn from this campaign and take confidence into the next one," he added.

"I was thankful that I was given the full 90 minutes to show what I could do and hopefully I will be in Nigel Worthington's thoughts for the next campaign.

"We have shown that we can come to the Czech Republic and put in a good performance and to cap it all with a goal would have been special.

"It was a great ball in by Steve Davis and I just couldn't get enough of a touch on the ball," he added.

Manager Worthington was also full of praise for the Celtic winger.

"I thought Niall was fantastic. He was a breath of fresh air for us.

"His running at the Czech defence caused them all sorts of problems and we're glad to have him on board.

I asked for a big performance from the players and they didn't let me down Nigel Worthington

"I wasn't at all surprised at his impact on the game because I am well aware of what he is capable of as he has been around the squad throughout the campaign."

The Northern Ireland boss said he thought it had been a good campaign for his side overall.

"We dropped our guard against Slovakia and I have said if you don't treat the game with respect, it can kick you in the teeth, and that is what happened.

"I asked for a big performance from the players and they didn't let me down - I knew if they performed they would get a result and we certainly deserved it.

"There is no point in looking back and asking, 'What might have been for this campaign?'. I only want to look forward.

"The players have been super and the staff have been first class throughout also.

"The supporters, home and away, have been amazing as always.

"We have been good at home but those performances must go hand-in-hand with the away games if you want to go places.

"I was delighted with our passing and all in all it was a super performance and a great result."

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