BELFAST, Northern Ireland: Paul Smyth was Northern Ireland’s hero after coming off the bench to mark his international debut with the winning goal against World Cup-bound South Korea here on Saturday.
There were just six minutes left until the end of the friendly match when the 20-year-old Queens Park Rangers forward was sent on by Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill and it took him just two minutes to score.
Conor Washington overpowered a defender and Smyth got on the ball before cutting inside and then producing a composed finish that gave South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu no chance, to the delight of the Windsor Park faithful.
South Korea had dominated much of the second half but, significantly, were unable to add to their tally after the opening 45 minutes ended all square at 1-1, with an early Kwon Chang-Hoon strike cancelled out by an own-goal from Kim Min-Jae.
Smyth’s goal rounded off a memorable few days for the forward as, fewer than 48 hours earlier, he had been playing for Northern Ireland’s Under-21 side in a 5-3 loss to Spain.Unlike South Korea, Northern Ireland won’t be heading to Russia 2018 after a controversial penalty led to a goal that saw them beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in a two-legged play-off.
South Korea kick-off their campaign June 18 against Sweden before further games against Germany and Mexico in Group F.O’Neill, who turned down an approach from Scotland to stay on as Northern Ireland manager, gave international debuts to Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson and Norwich full-back Jamal Lewis.South Korea fielded both of their Premier League stars — Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min and Swansea midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung — from the start.
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