Charles brothers settle it: Northern Ireland win in Georgia with 99th-minute goal

Shea Charles struck in the 99th minute to give Northern Ireland a 1-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi, moments after his younger brother Pierce had kept them level with a second-half penalty save.

Main image: DSN graphic. Photo: Tadeáš Bednarz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

A family night in Tbilisi

It was the latest goal Northern Ireland have ever scored, and it delivered their first away win in the history of the Nations League.

Michael O’Neill’s side opened their League B Group 2 campaign at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, a match played officially behind closed doors, although several thousand schoolchildren were allowed in.

For long spells a draw looked a fair outcome. Georgia raised the tempo after the break and should have gone ahead on 65 minutes, but Pierce Charles, 21, dived to push away a weak penalty from captain Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Queens Park Rangers loanee also kept out Georges Mikautadze from close range.

Then, nine minutes into stoppage time, Georgia failed to clear a long throw, Trai Hume crossed, and Shea Charles scrambled the ball home.

Result	Georgia 0-1 Northern Ireland
Competition	Nations League B, Group 2
Goal	Shea Charles 90+9
Penalty saved	Pierce Charles denies Kvaratskhelia (65)
Player of the match	Pierce Charles
Next up	Northern Ireland v Hungary, Windsor Park, Monday

“The two boys were brilliant”

O’Neill singled out both brothers. He praised Pierce for his distribution and the security he gives the back three, and called Shea “colossal”, adding that the Fulham midfielder was fouled repeatedly without the referee reaching for a card.

Pierce, who picked up the player-of-the-match award, joked that it was “classic Shea” to steal the headlines. Shea, 22, returned the compliment and said the penalty save was the turning point: after it, Northern Ireland stuck together and took control.

The goalkeeper said research before the game helped him read Kvaratskhelia’s spot-kick. Kvaratskhelia, the Paris Saint-Germain forward, is among this year’s Ballon d’Or nominees.

More on DSN: Ukraine v Northern Ireland preview: O’Neill’s young side chase top spot ten years on from Lyon, Ngumoha misses cut as England name 23 for Spain showdown and Hojlund does Ronaldo celebration and brushes past Jesus as Portugal win 4-2 in Denmark.

Our sister site DGBN has also covered the Nations League team news around Wales.

Hungary next at Windsor Park

Northern Ireland are back in the second tier of the Nations League for the first time in six years, and this was the ideal start. There is little time to enjoy it. The squad flew home in the early hours of Saturday and host Hungary in Belfast on Monday night, their first game at Windsor Park since November.

Shea Charles, who moved from Southampton to Fulham in the summer, said the win sets the team up well and that the players cannot wait to get back in front of a home crowd.