Late Dallas winner in Azerbaijan leaves NI fans daring to dream

Michael O'Neill's side are daring to dream yet again after Stuart Dallas capped a memorable night in Baku with a goal in the 92nd minute.

It leaves NI second in the group and with a four point cushion over the Czech Republic in third.

"I probably haven't had a better night in football,'' Dallas said.

"It will take a hell of a lot to beat that personally. Scoring for my country is something I have always dreamed about and it's something I will always cherish for the rest of my life.

"It could be the biggest goal I ever score given what it means for the group but we can't worry about anyone else.''

"I was going to take a touch and hit it with my left but I was tired,'' Dallas explained of his goal.

"It was a long 90 minutes. It ran across me and I've managed to drag it back into the bottom corner, maybe if I'd connected too well with it the defender could have blocked it.

"When it went in I ran to the fans and I was thinking to myself, 'I'm booked from a game before (Norway)' and I didn't know what to do.

"I had Kyle Lafferty grabbing me by the throat taking me towards the fans and I was trying to tell him I was on a yellow from a previous game - that's what was going through my head at that stage!

"But when I got the ball I had to concentrate to try to hit the target and thankfully it went in.''

Up next for the side is a double header in September against minnows San Marino and then the Czech Republic.