Image source, Press Eye
Image caption,
Northern Ireland finished bottom of the group after a draw and two losses in their three games
Jana McCabe
BBC Sport NI contributor
Northern Ireland exited the European Under-19 Championship as Norway beat them 2-0 at Seaview.
Daniel Braut put Norway in front when Northern Ireland failed to clear their lines just after the 30-minute mark.
Braut doubled his tally for the evening and gave Luis Pimenta’s side a more comfortable lead in the 65th minute.
Elsewhere, Ukraine sealed their place in the semi-finals as they beat defending champions Italy 3-2.
That result meant that Gareth McAuley’s side finished bottom of the group and Norway finished third.
Norway take advantage of their opportunities
It was a slow start to the game with Northern Ireland having their first goalscoring opportunity on 20 minutes when a clever pass by Sam Glenfield left Dylan Stitt through on goal, but his resulting strike was kept out by the outstretched Martin Borsheim.
Norway broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute when Benjamin Faraas’ cross from the left channel into the box was deflected by Tom Atcheson.
However, Braut was able to latch on to the danger and fire home from close range, past stopper Pierce Charles and Northern Ireland captain Gallagher Lennon, who attempted to clear the ball off the line.
In the final minute of the first half. Simen Vatne Haram’s header from a Sondre Granaas corner was narrowly over the crossbar as Luis Pimenta’s side tried to extend their advantage before the break.
Braut nets his third goal in three games
Image source, Pacemaker Press
Image caption,
Braut struck in both halves to seal Norway’s win at Seaview
Early in the second half, Glenfield’s low strike from just outside the box was gathered by Borsheim with Aodhan Doherty’s effort wide shortly after.
Norway doubled their advantage when Granaas’ pass found the unmarked Braut, who scored with a first-time finish.
The busy Braut was then denied his hat-trick by the woodwork twice. The first time, his strike took a deceiving deflection and crashed off the crossbar before his effort from 20 yards struck the right-hand post.
Cheered on by a sold-out Seaview, Northern Ireland had a great chance to grab their first goal of the tournament in the closing stages of the game with Borsheim making a great reaction save to stop Kieran Morrison’s strike and the alert Norway defence quickly cleared Corey Smith’s follow up attempt.
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