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Young Irish edged out by Czechs
Robbie Weir: Battles with Zeman
Northern Ireland Under-21s suffered a 2-1 home defeat to their Czech Republic counterparts in Tuesday night's UEFA U21 Championship qualifier.
Manchester United's promising midfielder Oliver Norwood emphasised his ability from dead-ball situations for the second successive Group Five clash but it was not enough for the young Irish to avoid defeat.
Norwood curled home a superb free-kick from 25 yards in the 82nd minute at Ballymena Showgrounds.
It was a carbon copy of his superb free-kick against Germany last time out, which earned his side a draw.
However, this time it was only a consolation goal as Northern Ireland U21s suffered their fourth defeat in five games in the campaign.
The Czech Republic took control with two quick goals. Martin Zeman made the breakthrough in the 36th minute with a free-kick from distance.
Northern Ireland were coming to terms with that blow when the Czechs struck again through a header from the towering Libor Kozak.
Goalkeeper Trevor Carson then did well to parry a close-range header from Michael Rabusic in the 50th minute to prevent a third goal.
Norwood almost pulled a goal back but goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik pushed his free-kick over the bar, only for the Old Trafford youngster to get his reward later.
Senior Northern Ireland manager and Sky Sports pundit Nigel Worthington praised Norwood for the quality of the free-kick.
He said: "You always fancy Oliver as he has so much self-belief in those situations. He put the ball down with real responsibility.
"It was tremendous. If any top professional in England or the world had hit it, you would be raving about it.
"We have big hopes for Oliver. He is a terrific young player, who has a long way to go. But to have that technique at his age is a wonderful thing."
